Rick Nash

[Swept In Seven]

Score the game winner on Tue. Nash and I won't hate you again till round 3 !!

He scores a game winner and I think he wakes up

 

[AHB*]

I did notice taht AV, once again, did not play him as much (or so it seemed) as the other top players on the team:

16 minutes of ice time... that's like 7th in forwards.... LOWEST ice time in the top 9 except Kreider and Hagelin, who played 15 seconds less than him...

I'm glad AV is "punishing" Nash by not putting him on for 20 minutes a night... Hopefully at some point he just becomes a 10 min guy, then a scratch to light a fire under his ass.... I would rather put MSL on Stepan's wing with Kreider, and Put fast or Carcillo back in the lineup... Nash has produced nothing in this series.

There were a lot of power plays last night and Nash was taken off in favor of Kreider so that probably has quite a bit to do with it.

Nash can go from goat to hero if he has a big game 7. I'm not expecting it, but would be nice to see him try and take control like we saw last year.

Also, regardless of how "bad" he is playing and he is, scratching him for Fast or Carcillo is laughable.

 

[TheTakedown]

There were a lot of power plays last night and Nash was taken off in favor of Kreider so that probably has quite a bit to do with it.

Nash can go from goat to hero if he has a big game 7. I'm not expecting it, but would be nice to see him try and take control like we saw last year.

Also, regardless of how "bad" he is playing and he is, scratching him for Fast or Carcillo is laughable.

Reply First bold part: Kreider, in the minimal power play time he has had, has already produced a goal on it... not to mention with Nash off of the power play, it's much more mobile and more potent... How many times were we able to set up that one timer on Fluery's glove side like last night with Nash on the power play? How many times did you see swift puck movement with lots of skating at the blue line and boards? How many times did we see one timers being taken? We didn't, because Nash can't handle to puck down low under pressure, plain and simple... it's obvious he holds the power play back

Reply Second Bold part: For one game, I can't agree with you... He's produced nothing other than some OK defense... 5 assists (not sure how many secondary), minimal plays made, no game takeovers, NO GOALS, and bottom line no production...

Also imperative to note that he has minimal chemistry with every single one of our centerman -- Looks like crap with Brass, Too slow even for Richards, MSL plays better on the right with Stepan. On top of that, there are 2 defenseman (Girardi and Stralman) with more points in these playoffs... that's pathetic... absolutely pathetic. I understand our centerman are crap, but to be compatible with none when MSL is beasting it up with Stepan says someting.

Bottom line, Nash is not a playoff performer, and I can't see him even being tradeable without half of his salary being held onto.

 

[Ail]

For one game, I can't agree with you... He's produced nothing other than some OK defense... No assists, no set ups, no game takeovers, bottom line no production...

Also imperative to note that he has minimal chemistry with every single one of our centerman -- Looks like crap with Brass, Too slow even for Richards, MSL plays better on the right with Stepan. On top of that, there are 2 defenseman (Girardi and Stralman) with more points in these playoffs... that's pathetic... absolutely pathetic.

Bottom line, Nash is not a playoff performer, and I can't see him even being tradeable without half of his salary being held onto.

He's not a defensive liability, he plays on the PK, and scoring or not he forces the opposition to keep their eyes on him from potential alone. He's also been the top possesion player for the Rangers.

You don't scratch him.

 

[Swept In Seven]

Can't believe people are in favor of scratching him. He commands attention even if he is playing like trash in the offensive zone, thus opening things up for other lines. Carcillo is a plug, a plug that has helped a lot but a plug nonetheless. You stick with Nash because he is solid defensively, has the potential to put the puck in the net, and he causes matchup problems that the other lines benefit from

 

[n8]

He leads the NHL in playoff SOG at 51. Parise (47) B Richards (45) and Neal (45) trailing. If he wakes up, with the team we got, the way it's playing now, I think we have a strong contender.

 

[Khelvan]

I wouldn't scratch him, but he's certainly not playing the way he is capable of playing.

I don't know, to me it looks like he's playing scared. I think he's afraid of high traffic areas now due to his concussion history. Pre- and post-concussion Nash look completely different. Given the extra physicality in the playoffs I think he is especially timid, meaning he looks like he doesn't give a ****.

He's still a highly skilled winger who commands extra attention on the ice, which makes him valuable, but I don't think he will ever be the force on the ice he can be again, unless he stops playing scared.

 

[tjs252]

Re: scratching...he's not a liability, he's just mostly invisible. I don't think you scratch a player that commands attention like he does unless he turns into a liability, which he hasn't.

I'm not happy with his play, but scratching him won't solve any problems his ineffectiveness on offense represents.

 

[frozenrubber]

He leads the NHL in playoff SOG at 51. Parise (47) B Richards (45) and Neal (45) trailing. If he wakes up, with the team we got, the way it's playing now, I think we have a strong contender.

He simply needs to stop shooting the puck at every opportunity. I've never seen a player throw so many shots on goal from so wide of the circles as well as entering the zone.

Goal droughts happen, and he is making important defensive plays, but if you can't put the puck in, help your linemates out.

Winning and effort IS NOT the disease he was exposed to in his Columbus years, it was not learning how to make players around you better (as he's historically played w/ some piss-poor talent).

 

[Jersey Girl]

I would not scratch Nash. He was actually somewhat engaged last game, and he did decent checking and actually played the body at times. If you set the bar low enough anyone can jump over it!

That said, if we wanted to trade Brandon Dubinsky for a checking winger we could have traded him for...Brandon Dubinsky! And we could have kept Anisimov and the first round draft pick to boot...

 

[aufheben]

Scratch Nash? Going into a Game 7?

 

[Whiplash27]

I hope this is just one of those things where IF he can get even one goal, it will light a fire. It's why I was at the very least hoping for an empty net the last two games and he couldn't even get one of those.

 

[RiceCooker]

You can't even think about scratching him for game 7...I always go in thinking the next game is where he finally breaks through and gets hot, be a great time for this to happen lol !!

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Im not going to kill the guy right now. I've done that enough. Go and have a good game tomorrow night. Create chances. Continue to shoot. If one goes in, great, if not - just make sure the battle level is up and pucks are won on the boards. Use the big frame. Get to the net. Rangers need to continue to have a presence there.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Im not going to kill the guy right now. I've done that enough. Go and have a good game tomorrow night. Create chances. Continue to shoot. If one goes in, great, if not - just make sure the battle level is up and pucks are won on the boards. Use the big frame. Get to the net. Rangers need to continue to have a presence there.

Totally agree - there will be plenty of time for review, hopefully not for another month or so. Right now, it's all hands on deck.

Go contribute, Rick, someway, somehow.

 

[NYR713]

I think MSL would be a better RW option with Step and Kreids than Nash. Let Nash play with Richie and Hags. Maybe something opens for him there. The other good thing about making that change is Nash brings more size to that 3rd line while Kreider plays big enough to bring a smaller guy like MSL onto the 1st.

 

[TheTakedown]

I think MSL would be a better RW option with Step and Kreids than Nash. Let Nash play with Richie and Hags. Maybe something opens for him there. The other good thing about making that change is Nash brings more size to that 3rd line while Kreider plays big enough to bring a smaller guy like MSL onto the 1st.

I'm all for that. Nash isn't very fast, which works well for Richards and his old legs.

MSL is MUCH faster and much better in the corners/perimeter... Kreider has amazing puck retreival skills, and Step is the best center we have.

Putting Nash on Richards' line also helps with defensive liabilities that Richards is prone to.

 

[n8]

I gotta mention again, Nash was hitting like a wrecking ball in game 6. 3-4 big hits. I really liked how the team was hitting overall too. Pens were the ones playing tight and looking up for blue jerseys flying at them. I forgot if it was game 2 or 3 but when the Pens turned things around on us, they did it with hitting. That's the level of toughness our team needs every game.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

I gotta mention again, Nash was hitting like a wrecking ball in game 6. 3-4 big hits. I really liked how the team was hitting overall too. Pens were the ones playing tight and looking up for blue jerseys flying at them. I forgot if it was game 2 or 3 but when the Pens turned things around on us, they did it with hitting. That's the level of toughness our team needs every game.

Agreed. Especially against a team that can be rattled like the Pens.

With regards to Nash, well, at least he did that.

 

[NYR713]

I'm all for that. Nash isn't very fast, which works well for Richards and his old legs.

MSL is MUCH faster and much better in the corners/perimeter... Kreider has amazing puck retreival skills, and Step is the best center we have.

Putting Nash on Richards' line also helps with defensive liabilities that Richards is prone to.

Yeah, since Kreider has been back I've noticed a few times that he and Step have had to hold up on the blue line way too much, sometimes looking like Yoga stretches, while waiting for Nash to cruise his way through the neutral zone with the puck. He's slowing them down (which sounds strange when we're talking about Stepan who isn't the fastest).

 

[SixGoalieSystem]

He also leads the NHL in PO shots. Even if they are floaters, he's shooting at Fleury. Sooner or later one has to go in.

 

[n8]

Agreed. Especially against a team that can be rattled like the Pens.

With regards to Nash, well, at least he did that.

Nash's hockey IQ seems to be inversely proportional to his distance from Hank.

 

[Vinny DeAngelo]

Nash is coming... The fact is this isn't last yr or even 2012... We don't need him to carry the team.
Fact is we are a deeper team and the penguins have no answer for the brassard line. Now that kreider and stepan are stepping up Nash will go up with them. And we all know how well MSL has played since his mom passed away.(RIP).

With hank and the defense back to playing back to their ability we don't need Nash to take over games. But while he's not scoring he's playing good defense unlike gabby


But that being said he should be producing. But it's Nash and he's wildly inconsistent but when he's on he's a top 10 guy in the league so let's hope he turns it on for game 7 and then the next two series!

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Nash's D-play has become vastly overrated here. That PK stunt he pulled was a good example of his head being completely up his own ass at times in our zone.

 

[ponzu4u]

While he's unquestionably been a playoff disappointment, I too want to give him credit for at least bringing a strong and aggressive physical game, particularly in Game 6.

I think you can clearly see his frustration at his lack of ability to produce, but it's pretty encouraging to see him clearly making the effort in other areas of the game. Again, granted it's not what you're paying him 7.8$ a year to do, but unlike another recent high-profile scoring winger on the Rangers, he's at least making an effort and getting results in terms of being noticeable in other areas of the game as opposed to scoring, and not completely and utterly failing to have an impact on the game whatsoever, a la the entire final season Gabby spent here.

God it would be so amazing if he could be the one to come up with the huge goal in Game 7.....