Rick Nash.....1 goal in 20 NYR playoff games

[NYR Viper]

I don't really like to play hypotheticals. It's the playoffs. Defenses are collapsing on EVERYONE. Nash has the frame and talent to do something about that. Unfortunately, he's content to cash his checks and hang out on the perimeter.

Could/should Stepan have buried a couple? Probably. That doesn't change the fact that the 8 million dollar goal scorer is one of the only players on this team without a single goal.

Stepan is just the latest in a long line of distractions in this thread. You talk about ignoring points? The blind Nash defenders have been screaming about his defense, his secondary assists, and comparing him to Crosby, Malkin, and now Stepan. Before that, it was a non-stop diatribe about how people that critique Nash have terminal ennui and can't enjoy wins.

Reality check--he's paid to score goals in the postseason. He's not doing it. You *****ing about Stepan (who has two MORE goals than Nash even though that isn't his primary job), is nothing more than an obvious attempt to distract people from the obvious--Nash is not doing his job.

Yes, the Rangers won. Yes, I'm thrilled about that. What you excuse makers need to get through your heads is that this team might win games with Nash no-showing. They might even win a couple of series. They aren't coming close to Lord Stanley if Nash refuses to show up.

Did Nash not show up?

It's oddly hilarious to me that you think I'm an 'excuse maker' when I've said one thing in this thread, which happens to be true.

But hey, you can go around pounding your chest and labeling people whatever you want to if it makes you feel better

 

[smoneil]

Did Nash not show up?

Barely noticeable? No goals? No desire to leave the perimeter? No, Nash did not show up. Our very expensive tweener showed up. Aside from one full game (rd 1, gm 7), and a few rare shifts, Nash has no-showed this whole postseason.

It's oddly hilarious to me that you think I'm an 'excuse maker' when I've said one thing in this thread, which happens to be true.

Two things:

First, you are right that I shouldn't have labeled you. To be frank, I had you confused with another poster.

Second, that said, while--as I admitted--Stepan could have done better with a chance or two, what relevance does that have to this thread? In isolation, Stepan has had an above average postseason thus far. He's got room to grow, but he's been part of the positive. Comparatively speaking? Compared to Nash, Stepan has been Wayne freaking Gretzky.

While you haven't been one of the routine excuse-makers, I honestly see zero reason for inserting Stepan into this conversation OTHER than to distract from Nash's poor play.

 

[NYR Viper]

Barely noticeable? No goals? No desire to leave the perimeter? No, Nash did not show up. Our very expensive tweener showed up. Aside from one full game (rd 1, gm 7), and a few rare shifts, Nash has no-showed this whole postseason.




Two things:

First, you are right that I shouldn't have labeled you. To be frank, I had you confused with another poster.

Second, that said, while--as I admitted--Stepan could have done better with a chance or two, what relevance does that have to this thread? In isolation, Stepan has had an above average postseason thus far. He's got room to grow, but he's been part of the positive. Comparatively speaking? Compared to Nash, Stepan has been Wayne freaking Gretzky.

While you haven't been one of the routine excuse-makers, I honestly see zero reason for inserting Stepan into this conversation OTHER than to distract from Nash's poor play.

I saw Nash countless times near the goal and driving to the goal tonight. It sucks he hasn't scored. That's a fact. But he is having an effect on the game.

Obviously for what he is being paid he needs to score for this team to be successful but he hasn't been THAT bad. Just needs to step it up a notch.

The reason I brought up Stepan was not to detract from the Nash bashing, but instead to try to point out that there are some outside factors that have left his point totals lower than, IMO, his play correlates to.

Again, I'm not saying he is playing to some phenomenal level, he needs to score. However, he should have had a couple of assists tonight on some very nice passes and I guess I would be okay if he had a ppg for 20-24 playoff games if they all happened to be assists. They're still points that help lead to the team scoring goals.

 

[Samuel Culper III]

I may be Nash's biggest detractor. I'm certainly one of them. I will never be a fan and it's as simple as that. Still, I can easily admit he elevated his effort in game 7 and if he could play like that consistently, I'd at least be satisfied. He was good. Not incredible. Still not worth his contract, but clearly hustling, working, getting looks and putting in an effort. I can live with that. My issue with Nash is that it takes a game 7 that we shouldn't have even allowed to take place, or the final desperate seconds with the goalie pulled to bring out the kind of effort level that he basically needs to put forth in order to be effective. Nobody is asking him to be a guy like Dubinsky who has made his career off of being an inspirationally hard worker, but if he doesn't at least put forth a good amount of effort, his massive skill set is completely useless. I don't care how talented you are, if you keep it in third gear ALL the time, you're not a threat against NHL competition, especially not in the playoffs. I'm not asking Nash to be a guy who is constantly in sixth gear, but show us fourth and fifth in situations other than do or die, must win moments. Like I said, I'll never be a fan, but if he could just bring an effort reminiscent of last night I'd get off his case a lot.

So building off this post, tonight is a great example of what I'm talking about. He ramps it up for game 7. Some people think "okay, maybe he's figured it out he's definitely hustling, maybe this is the Nash we'll see the rest of the playoffs" but no, he goes right back to perimeter, laid back, not battling, predictable Nash. It's infuriating because we know the talent he has and we occasionally get to see that he DOES have another gear or two that he can go into when he cares, so why is it so damn hard to get this guy to give a damn about the second round of the playoffs? Sure, it's no game 7, but in some respects can't we say that any game in round 2 is bigger than game 7 in round 1? The stakes are only getting higher. The opponents are better. Nash seems content to just cruise in third gear though, unless we have to pull Hank with 50 seconds left or the series goes to 7. How about just playing that way in the second period of games 1-4 so that we don't need to be pulling the goalie or playing 7 games? The talent is there. The effort is possible. What does it take to get him to give a ****? That's why I will always hate Rick Nash. I don't care how many highlights you make if you just don't give a ****. Richards gives a ****. Richards is older, more broken down and has less left in the tank, but he gives a ****. Nash just doesn't, so screw him and his big contract.

 

[Inferno]

IF Stepan could finish, Nash would have 10 assists this playoffs. He's setup his linemates countless times. He's playing really well. Also the short shift thing seems to be a teamwide thing. everyoens taking super short shifts...i bet thats a schedule thing, and the fact that w're 4 deep. play hard, and gtfo the ice.

 

[McRanger]

I thought Nash was abysmal tonight. Absolutely awful. He seriously looked like he was sedated for most of the game. I actually counted one shift. He took a stride from the blueline and it was 15 seconds before he moved his feet again. That is practically half a shift. Bad conditioning or tired legs... That's awful.

Don't get me started on Stepan. I have no idea he has 4 points. He seems like he's playing with a stick with a hole in it.

 

[broadwayblue]

IF Stepan could finish, Nash would have 10 assists this playoffs. He's setup his linemates countless times. He's playing really well. Also the short shift thing seems to be a teamwide thing. everyoens taking super short shifts...i bet thats a schedule thing, and the fact that w're 4 deep. play hard, and gtfo the ice.

He also fed Moore for a great wide open look from inside the circles...sadly the shot ended up somewhere other than on goal.

 

[Inferno]

yep and MSL had a point blank shot off of a rebound of his...that goes in, another assist for him.

 

[n8]

Justin Florek, Jordan Caron, Erik Haula, Rickard Rakell, Marcus Kruger, Matt Beleskey, Dale Weise

players with more goals (1) than Rick Nash



Sidney Crosby, David Krejci, Mike Richards, Brad Marchand

players also with no goals in the playoffs.



players on those lists with more points than Nash that aren't Art Ross finalists. 0. He's certainly snake bitten. I want to see a better effort for him in the one-on-one battles and general work ethic. His passes are really looking sloppy right now and I saw 3-4 times tonight where he totally messed up the attack leading to a turn over and the Pens countering through our neutral zone unimpeded, where we normally do a great job holding up the opposition's attack. If you're not going to score goals, at least shore up these things Ricky-boy! win some of those battles and stop messing up our O-Flow. I'm still convinced that short of a Royal BrassMiracle, we will need Nash at some point to turn it on.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

Nash was engaged tonight. He was still finishing his checks and he was taking the puck to the net.

I think some people in this thread are so annoyed at him that their eyes deceive them and they see what they wanna see. I saw Nash finishing his checks, getting chances and taking the puck to the net.

To be fed up that he's not finishing is one thing. But he's not playing on the perimeter right now. Go watch a regular season game during a slump, that's him playing on the perimeter. The last two games he's been Cam Neely compared to how he often plays in the regular season.

I think there's simply people on here that won't start to see the positives until the stats match. You need to sometimes separate the stats from the effort when analyzing. Anyone saying he's invisible and dogging it is just not being honest. I bet if he had a few goals by now the same people saying "where's nash" and questioning his effort and calling him invisible would be saying how much of a beast he is and how dominant he looks.

I see Nash finishing checks more, skating harder than we've seen him skate in a long time, putting in more effort on back checks and making seriously solid defensive plays. It's not only unfair to call out his effort, but it's just plain wrong. The effort is there. He's skating hard, engaging and taking the puck to the middle.

Honestly, aside from the lack of finishing, I'm happy with his play. His effort has always been the question mark. When he's engaged and skating his hardest he's a force. If he keeps playing the way he's played the past two games, it's not a matter of if the goals will come, but a matter of when.

 

[Ola]

Agreed, this thread should be closed.

Nash was amazing again. Pitts Ds couldn't handle him down low, MSL scores 9/10 times on that point blank chance he got of Nash's feed. Nash setup Step in the crease after a great play along the boards. Our two best chances that didn't result in goals.

He was also great defensively and that line, Nash-Step-MSL, had the toughest possible matchup all game and did really well, they might have had a little more zone time than against Philly when they PWNED Giroux and co, but they played real well as a whole.

 

[richardsequalscup*]

Nash hasn't been amazing in one playoff game as a Ranger. Honestly, the way our fans stick up for this clown is hilarious. Yet, when Hank doesn't stop every shot, they call up WFAN and say he's not a playoff goalie when they lose 2-1 or 3-2.

 

[Vitto79]

Could Nash be way better in rw? Teams winning so just hope he wakes up w a few goals

 

[BroadwayBlues]

So building off this post, tonight is a great example of what I'm talking about. He ramps it up for game 7. Some people think "okay, maybe he's figured it out he's definitely hustling, maybe this is the Nash we'll see the rest of the playoffs" but no, he goes right back to perimeter, laid back, not battling, predictable Nash. It's infuriating because we know the talent he has and we occasionally get to see that he DOES have another gear or two that he can go into when he cares, so why is it so damn hard to get this guy to give a damn about the second round of the playoffs? Sure, it's no game 7, but in some respects can't we say that any game in round 2 is bigger than game 7 in round 1? The stakes are only getting higher. The opponents are better. Nash seems content to just cruise in third gear though, unless we have to pull Hank with 50 seconds left or the series goes to 7. How about just playing that way in the second period of games 1-4 so that we don't need to be pulling the goalie or playing 7 games? The talent is there. The effort is possible. What does it take to get him to give a ****? That's why I will always hate Rick Nash. I don't care how many highlights you make if you just don't give a ****. Richards gives a ****. Richards is older, more broken down and has less left in the tank, but he gives a ****. Nash just doesn't, so screw him and his big contract.

He reminds me of Eddy Curry. All the physical talent but just doesn't (in this case) crave/love hockey. If they did, they would play every game as if it was their last.

 

[OverTheCap]

Nash played well in Game 7, but last night was a step back from that performance. It seemed like he was fumbling the puck an awful lot in his own zone, and he made some errant passes that ended up on the sticks of the Pens.

 

[Fataldogg]

Nash hasn't been amazing in one playoff game as a Ranger. Honestly, the way our fans stick up for this clown is hilarious. Yet, when Hank doesn't stop every shot, they call up WFAN and say he's not a playoff goalie when they lose 2-1 or 3-2.

I don't get that either. 50% of our fan base trashes Lundqvist every game (even this last game where I thought he was great), when he has been our best player for the past decade.

In contrast, you have Nash, who has never contributed anything to the organization when it matters, who is making even more money than Lundqvist this season, and he is being defended because he has some good shifts?

At the end of the day, it's not about the shift. It's about the results. You cannot delegate that kind of $ to a player who scores less than 4th liners in the post season. Results matter. You can't beat the other team in the post season by having a lot of good shifts and chances, but never putting the puck in the net.

Our fan base is really comical in that regard. Nash should be the whipping boy until he gets concrete results, because until he starts scoring goals, every series is much harder on the team than it has to be.

He is the only high profile player on the team who hasn't pulled his weight. Richards, MSL, and Lundqvist have all played well and have all gotten RESULTS.

 

[mcsauer2738]

Nash was invisible last night. I cannot remember even noticing him.

 

[we want cup]

Another game where Nash fails to make an impact. You just can't pay a guy this much to be this ineffective when it counts.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Theres no better example of a win absolving all sins than if you're saying Nash was fine last night.

He was terrible - back into ghost mode. The guy needs to move his feet and stay engaged. Its maddening that he can't.

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

I'm noticing 2 major issues with Nash right now that don't directly involve Nash:

1. AV could be using him better. Take him off the PK and give him more ES and PP minutes. I don't need Rick Nash getting paid 8 mil to be on the penalty kill. We have TONS of guys that can PK well. This isn't team Canada where we have 10 other guys that can score at any time. We need him playing in the offensive zone.

2. Derek Stepan is not the right center for Nash. They've had some good games together, but Nash needs a guy who can win some faceoffs. Stepan is absolutely terrible in the dot, which leads to the following scenario game, after game, after game:

Rangers get offensive zone faceoff. AV puts out Nash-Stepan-MSL line. Stepan loses draw. Nash and co. spend their entire shift chasing the forecheck trying to get the puck back. Eventually they do, the whole line is now gassed, dump in and change.

My suggestion? And it's so crazy that is just might work. Dominic Moore has been playing possibly the best hockey of his life recently. Stick Nash on his wing; let Moore dig out the pucks in the corners and win faceoffs and let Nash drive the net. That top line needs to be broken up; outside of a game or two it's been completely stale

Disclaimer: I'm still not absorbing Nash of criticism. Regardless of the above issues he's still not playing well. I think he's playing either hurt or scared, but that's another discussion and not an excuse anyway when you get paid 7.8M

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Agreed, this thread should be closed.

Nash was amazing again. Pitts Ds couldn't handle him down low, MSL scores 9/10 times on that point blank chance he got of Nash's feed. Nash setup Step in the crease after a great play along the boards. Our two best chances that didn't result in goals.

He was also great defensively and that line, Nash-Step-MSL, had the toughest possible matchup all game and did really well, they might have had a little more zone time than against Philly when they PWNED Giroux and co, but they played real well as a whole.

Many posters, including myself, think Nash Hasn't been effective, but you think he has been amazing. I could reiterate my last several posts, but that hasn't gotten anywhere.

I googled amazing people. Although I did not receive a direct hit for my query, I did receive multiple hits for Times Magazine's 100 Most Significant Figures in History. I'm assuming these significant figures would generally be labeled as amazing. Here are a few of them that made the list:

- Jesus
- William Shakespeare
- Aristotle
- Abraham Lincoln
- Charles Darwin
- Socrates

I know the list included a broad range of figures from many facets of human life, but after reading that list of a comparison, I'm not sure if Rick Nash's play has indeed been amazing.

Theres no better example of a win absolving all sins than if you're saying Nash was fine last night.

He was terrible - back into ghost mode. The guy needs to move his feet and stay engaged. Its maddening that he can't.

That is an example of a statement that a fan could make that would amaze me.

 

[Samuel Culper III]

It is hysterical that there are people who will say that Nash has been amazing but Hank hasn't been good enough. That's "amazing" to me. How anyone could say Nash has been anything better than "fine" is beyond me. If you want to stand up for him and say he's still contributing and you actually notice him and thinks he's doing well despite not scoring, at all than say he's been "fine". Saying that Nash has been "amazing" is as ridiculous as saying that MacKinnon's first few playoff games were underwhelming. It's just a load of bull.

 

[Holocene]

My biggest problem with Nash is that if he falls he'll just keep sitting on the ice trying to get a call while the puck goes the other way. Seriously, just get up and get back in the play.

 

[jerseyjinx94]

Do you guys watch the games or just look at the box scores?

There's more to the game than scoring goals. Nash is engaged, he's hitting, he's skating, he's backchecking, he's getting 2-3 great chances a game while being double-teamed. Saying he needs to score is one thing, saying he isn't playing well is just blind hatred. If he keeps playing like this, the points will come. I don't get how you can watch him play and not be pleasantly surprised with his compete level thus far.

 

[Clown Fiesta]

Do you guys watch the games or just look at the box scores?

There's more to the game than scoring goals. Nash is engaged, he's hitting, he's skating, he's backchecking, he's getting 2-3 great chances a game while being double-teamed. Saying he needs to score is one thing, saying he isn't playing well is just blind hatred. If he keeps playing like this, the points will come. I don't get how you can watch him play and not be pleasantly surprised with his compete level thus far.

Stop wasting your time, you see what you want to see and in this case a lot of people only see what happens in the offensive zone and I guess on the perimeter, because I agree with you, but really it's a losing battle.