Two games in and Rick Nash has been good against the Capitals. Whether good is enough to win a Cup is another debate but the best part about Nash so far is that he appears to be getting better as the series develops.
Nash’s lack of goals in the postseason is an issue, of course it is. When your 42 goal regular season scorer, highest paid skater and go-to forward isn’t filling the net it’s an issue. However while Nash plays well and continues to make game influencing plays like he did in game two it’s fine, the Rangers can cope with this issue better than most teams in the league. If Alex Ovechkin suddenly stopped scoring (that would be nice) the Caps would be in trouble as the Caps can’t match the Rangers in depth; there’s a major difference in how the teams are constructed.
Unlike last year, when Nash went through the playoffs playing far too much on the perimeter (despite working very hard in a team first effort), Nash is involved. Nash is playing the game in the right areas, he’s driving the puck to the net when he sees the opportunity to do so and he continues to be a defensive leader for the Rangers. Nash leads the Rangers with five takeaways in the playoffs (no other player has more than two), he’s fourth in hits and impressively, albeit worryingly, he is amongst team leaders in blocked shots as well. No, Nash isn’t going to go all Dan Girardi on us and be a body sacrificing, defense at all costs player but Nash is getting involved.
The key word here is involved. Nash isn’t scoring goals but he’s still influencing games. The theory is, if you stay involved, if you keep getting chances and if you keep knocking on the door you’ll get there eventually. Nash is doing all the right things aside from goal scoring. He’s playing physical hockey, getting the puck to the net and is willing to pay a price for success. That’s hard to criticise, it’s also what deep playoff runs are made from.
On Dan Boyle’s powerplay tally in game two it wasn’t just that Nash set the screen on Holtby. Nash drove to the net and created a chance for himself as he tried to stuff it in and got put on his backside for the privilege. Tellingly, Nash was switched on enough on to realise his position and immediately got in front of Holtby and thus, a screened Holtby had no chance on Boyle’s long range effort. You didn’t see Nash turn away from the play after he had been denied. He stayed in the moment and made a positive contribution.
Despite all the media scrutiny (including pathetic and misplaced comments from Mike Milbury) Nash appears unburdened by his goal scoring troubles and the fact his decision making on the ice doesn’t seem to be affected by his lack of goals is critical for the Rangers. Nash hasn’t sulked; he hasn’t (at least publicly) dropped his head as he struggles to score.
Nash is a team first superstar. He has been all year and that’s why you’re seeing him making plays and influencing games in more than one way. Nash has been good and he doesn’t need just goals to be a critical player for the Rangers. As long as the Rangers continue to win games and Nash keeps being a factor, that’s all that matters. That said, starting in Washington tonight, if Nash wants to pot a few more goals I’m sure no Ranger fan would complain.
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