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Nash describes his playoff performance as "Good"

Not to remove any of Nash's performance by placing it on the coaches, but point totals and pressure levels do get hurt by this team's horrific PP. If the PP scores even 3 or 4 more goals in the playoffs, Nash's point total probably goes up enough that the scrutiny is a little lighter. I know Nash is paid to score, but he isn't the coach, does not draw up the PP or offensive schemes, and he's one guy. And the PP was a wreck before Nash got here, so it really is on the coaches. I mean, when a coaching staff starts a season with Nash and Gaborik, both of whom are top 10 in goals and goals per game since the lockout, and the team still cannot put a functional PP on the ice, you have to look towards the coaches quite a bit.

The horrific PP doesn't just affect Nash, it's discouraging for the entire team. Essentially every player hits the ice and their 5-on-5 game essentially has to outscore what the opposition does 5-on-5 and on the PP. Long term, there is no possible way to win like that. Mentally I can't see how players could play like that - from the goalie out to the forwards that is a ridiculously high-pressure disadvantage to be in.

Some components of Nash's game in the playoffs left a lot to be desired and he often looked a lot like a guy playing in his first real playoffs on a decent team. At the same time, I'd like to have seen the momentum gain, energy surge, breathing space or reduction in pressure a couple of PP goals could've provided, not just for Nash, but the entire team, goalie included. The lack of an efficient PP made things infinitely more difficult on the players and required them to have to do so much more at ES to win games. Players cannot play at that kind of disadvantage and win for any duration. Especially a guy like Nash and the coverage he's seeing 5-on-5 in the playoffs.

Not making any excuses for anyone, and by no means laying all the blame at the coaches either. I am simply offering an angle to consider, and nothing more.
 
Cake or Death said:
Not to remove any of Nash's performance by placing it on the coaches, but point totals and pressure levels do get hurt by this team's horrific PP. If the PP scores even 3 or 4 more goals in the playoffs, Nash's point total probably goes up enough that the scrutiny is a little lighter. I know Nash is paid to score, but he isn't the coach, does not draw up the PP or offensive schemes, and he's one guy. And the PP was a wreck before Nash got here, so it really is on the coaches. I mean, when a coaching staff starts a season with Nash and Gaborik, both of whom are top 10 in goals and goals per game since the lockout, and the team still cannot put a functional PP on the ice, you have to look towards the coaches quite a bit.

The horrific PP doesn't just affect Nash, it's discouraging for the entire team. Essentially every player hits the ice and their 5-on-5 game essentially has to outscore what the opposition does 5-on-5 and on the PP. Long term, there is no possible way to win like that. Mentally I can't see how players could play like that - from the goalie out to the forwards that is a ridiculously high-pressure disadvantage to be in.

Some components of Nash's game in the playoffs left a lot to be desired and he often looked a lot like a guy playing in his first real playoffs on a decent team. At the same time, I'd like to have seen the momentum gain, energy surge, breathing space or reduction in pressure a couple of PP goals could've provided, not just for Nash, but the entire team, goalie included. The lack of an efficient PP made things infinitely more difficult on the players and required them to have to do so much more at ES to win games. Players cannot play at that kind of disadvantage and win for any duration. Especially a guy like Nash and the coverage he's seeing 5-on-5 in the playoffs.

Not making any excuses for anyone, and by no means laying all the blame at the coaches either. I am simply offering an angle to consider, and nothing more.
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this is an excellent, well written assessment. I don't view it as merely an angle, but the focal point of why this team wouldn't advance under Tortorella. You cannot underestimate how important a function power play or lack thereof has on a team. Trying to win games @ ES night after night into the playoffs is, nearly impossible to sustain.

Hockey is a game of momentum, and it can turn on a dime with a PP goal. The Rangers body language was that they gave up. You saw each and every time they had the man advantage.
Our former coach (boy i liked saying that! :laugh:) totally absolved himself from the responsibility
of constructing a functioning power play in 5 years!!!

A functioning powerplay could have been the difference on some many nights.

If Torts was fired on this one point alone, I'm totally satisfied. All his replacement would need to do first is get this in order and we'd be well on our way to taking the next steps...
 
Nash is supposed to be a player that puts team on his back. I did not see that in the playoffs.
 
Pizza said:
Nash is supposed to be a player that puts team on his back. I did not see that in the playoffs.
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He's not supposed to be a one man show, I feel for anyone who bought into that.

Neither was Brett Hull, Dave Andreychuk, John Leclair, Tim Kerr, etc - scoring forwards with some size that were never the be all end all, but solid contributors who were part of some very good teams.
 
jas said:
I took more out of him saying that he enjoyed his playoff experience, and that he couldn't wait for next year's playoffs. But, as usual, people take what they want from what he said.
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He shouldn't have enjoyed it, they're goal was to go deeper than last year. Did Hank "enjoy" this playoff experience? Not at all. Nash is a loser. All he does is lose.
 
Bluenote13 said:
He's not supposed to be a one man show, I feel for anyone who bought into that.

Neither was Brett Hull, Dave Andreychuk, John Leclair, Tim Kerr, etc - scoring forwards with some size that were never the be all end all, but solid contributors who were part of some very good teams.
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What I think reasonable people expect is a player with his skill set and regular season productivity to at least carry his share of the load in a playoff run. He failed to do that this playoff season. The above players you mentioned were pretty good at it. Nash has had limited playoff experience, so I'd cut him a bit of slack. Next year? No.

It's way too early to put him Mike Gartner territory, but Nash needs to look at players like that or better yet his buddy Joe Thornton, and run like hell in the other direction.
 
Pizza said:
What I think reasonable people expect is a player with his skill set and regular season productivity to at least carry his share of the load in a playoff run. He failed to do that this playoff season. The above players you mentioned were pretty good at it. Nash has had limited playoff experience, so I'd cut him a bit of slack. Next year? No.

It's way too early to put him Mike Gartner territory, but Nash needs to look at players like that or better yet his buddy Joe Thornton, and run like hell in the other direction.
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You said it, this was really his first shot at a title, not the end of the world to me. I mentioned Dave Andreychuk cause that's more in line with the kind of player Nash is. He's no Messier, he's never gonna have the skill or versatility to come close, but Andreychuk was a scoring machine that could not lift a team to victory all by himself, doesn't make him garbage for it. Andreychuk always performed, but the Sabres never won a playoff series in his 11 years with that club.

It's not like we saw the whole team performing and Nash lagging behind, many on this team underachieved. In game 6 it was Nash who pressured Backstrom deep in the Caps zone that led to the turnover that led to his deflected pass for the GWG.

Meanwhile, none of this would be an issue, and maybe we'd still be watching hockey if the power play was somewhat stable. I don't hold Nash to be the be all end all on offense and that includes the PP.
 
Bluenote13 said:
You said it, this was really his first shot at a title, not the end of the world to me. I mentioned Dave Andreychuk cause that's more in line with the kind of player Nash is. He's no Messier, he's never gonna have the skill or versatility to come close, but Andreychuk was a scoring machine that could not lift a team to victory all by himself, doesn't make him garbage for it. Andreychuk always performed, but the Sabres never won a playoff series in his 11 years with that club.

It's not like we saw the whole team performing and Nash lagging behind, many on this team underachieved. In game 6 it was Nash who pressured Backstrom deep in the Caps zone that led to the turnover that led to his deflected pass for the GWG.

Meanwhile, none of this would be an issue, and maybe we'd still be watching hockey if the power play was somewhat stable. I don't hold Nash to be the be all end all on offense and that includes the PP.
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Fair points.

I would characterize Nash's playoff performance as sub par, not terrible. He needs to produce a lot more, and given a few tweeks I think he will be in a much better position to do that.
 
Pizza said:
Fair points.

I would characterize Nash's playoff performance as sub par, not terrible. He needs to produce a lot more, and given a few tweeks I think he will be in a much better position to do that.
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I'm very forgiving with Nash. I've always liked him but you have to remember where he is coming from, one of if not the worst positions to be in pro hockey. In many ways he was like a rookie this year and it showed.

No excuses next year, even with a new coach.
 
Bluenote13 said:
People expect too much from Rick Nash, but he should expect more from himself.

And yeah, he never says he was good, but of course what does that matter, a pro writer wrote it, must be meaningful.
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Wow, have you guys not seen the exit interviews from practice two days ago? You're going to feel pretty uninformed after you have...
 
Nash wasn't suuposed to be that guy coming here either.

It was supposed to be a three headed monster with Richards, Gabby and himself taking the pressure off of each other. Then lower end guys like Cally, Stepan, Hagelin, Kreider, etc could provide secondary scoring.

Instead you had Richards and Gabby be a HUGE drain to this team offensively outside of a handful of games each which inflated their stats, and the rest of the secondary scoring was leaned on being the primary scoring.

Nash was elite during the season.

In the playoffs he was shut down.

It's the same way we shut down Ovechkin.

It's not because AO sucks, its because that team has nothing outside of that 1 line.

1 line teams are EASY to shut down, you need 3 powerful offensive lines.

Thats what this team was SUPPOSED to be.

But when 2 of your 3 offensive studs end up playing like 3rd or 4th liners, you're so hardcore effed.

Nash did play pretty well in the playoffs to be totally honest. I know it's unpopular, but how about giving credit to one of the greatest defensive defenseman the NHL has ever seen? Washington too just had to shut him down, the rest of the Rangers arent nearly as threatening as Nash is. Nash created chances, couldnt finish, neither could his linemates.

I thought he played pretty good. I think a team with Richards, and Gaborik firing on all cylinders is a helluva lot harder to stop.

*sigh*
 
you either need 3 guys capable of carrying their line, or you need 9 guys capable of scoring but not necessarily being "the man"

Boston has the latter down to a science. Teams like Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and Chicago have the former down to a science.

any particular reason people are shocked that the 4 teams left are who they are?

Rangers should have been in that discussion, a final 4 team...blame Gabby and Richards for having just awful seasons.
 
NikC said:
A functioning powerplay could have been the difference on some many nights.

If Torts was fired on this one point alone, I'm totally satisfied. All his replacement would need to do first is get this in order and we'd be well on our way to taking the next steps...
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While maintaining things on the defensive side of the puck?

Then yes.

Easier said than done... but yes.

But I agree, put this team, with this goalie on the ice with a good-deadly PP and you have something... even if ES stays the same or gets a bit worse. When teams can no longer take liberties at ES, because they're so afraid of our PP, or the momentum it COULD create... then, then we would have something.
 
I think his self-assessment is pretty accurate. The opposition knew that if they stopped him no one else was going to beat them.
 
Its strange (to me) that statistically Nash performed better against BOS (3pts in 5) than WAS (2 in 7). Doesn't mean anything, but I found it surprising
 
Anyone else think he was being sarcastic?

They way he said it, it was like he was challenging that reporter to say another word.
 
Callagraves said:
Anyone else think he was being sarcastic?

They way he said it, it was like he was challenging that reporter to say another word.
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I try not to read anything into what he or anyone else said, especially that soon after a playoff loss. People respond to that in their own different ways, but anyone who's played sport of any kind knows it's massively deflating and a really lousy feeling. I, myself, would be talking while almost not too aware of the words coming out of my mouth a few days following a big loss... I try to be civil and talk to people, of course, but my mind is still so wrapped up in the loss.
 
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