Rick Nash Hasn’t Changed A Thing This Season With New York Rangers

By Dominic Lancella on October 31, 2014

After the New York Rangers lost the Stanley Cup Final last season, New York forward Rick Nash received more criticism than most for not meeting expectations. Nash has been branded by many as a “regular season guy,” a player who puts together a good season but that doesn’t show up in the playoffs when it matters most. This season Nash has kept the doubters off his back; he’s tied with Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks for the most goals in the NHL, but the veteran hasn’t changed a thing about his approach.

Nash hasn’t been doing anything differently than what he did almost every game in the playoffs last season; the only difference is the pucks have been going in so far this season. Nash already has nine goals and two assists in nine games this season, but he disappointed in the playoffs when he had only three goals in 25 games.

There’s no doubt that Nash is motivated to make an impact every night after his lack of production at key times last spring. He played well in the playoffs and worked hard but couldn’t find the net. Unfortunately for Nash hard work isn’t enough — production on the scoreboard has to be there as well. He was brought to New York to do one thing, score goals, but Nash hasn’t done anything differently that has resulted in his hot start.

His hard work is paying off and he’s lifted this team in the early stages of the 2014-15 campaign. All nine of his goals are at even strength, which is evidence of his effort on the ice. He also shined in the Rangers’ one shootout game this season, scoring the only goal in the shootout and getting New York the win.

Nash hasn’t changed his offensive mentality, which involves crashing the net and using his body to make plays. He’s also created many chances by forcing turnovers on the forecheck. These are all things that have helped make him a star in this league, and he shouldn’t deviate from it now.

Coach Alain Vigneault has recognized that Nash hasn’t made many adjustments from last season and touched on it in a press conference earlier this week.

“I don’t think his game has changed much, other than the fact that obviously pucks are going in right now,” Vigneault said after a Wednesday practice. The Rangers know that Nash will continue to give max-effort every night, but the team hopes that his production holds steady.

Nash’s nine goals is exactly one-third of all New York tallies this season, showing how vital his production is to the lineup. The Rangers have a solid team while lacking in individual goalscorers, but Nash has carried the load to this point.

Until Nash puts up good numbers in the playoffs, he is always going to have doubters, but all he can do now is continue to play his game and hope that pucks keep going in. Whatever way you look at it, Nash is one of the hottest players in the league right now.