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The New York Rangers haven’t seen Rick Nash on the ice since Jan. 22 when he went out with a leg injury. Since then the Rangers thought it would only be a little while they would be without their star forward, but the bone bruise and its complications have deprived the Rangers of their most consistent goal-scoring threat. That could change as Alain Vigneault believes Nash will be back in 10-14 days.
Before you go getting your hopes up, remember that bone bruises can be complicated things. It would be nice for the Rangers to get him back, but a lot can go wrong between now and then.
In Nash’s absence, they have gone 11-4-1 and have played a much better brand of hockey as of late. Adding a healthy and rested Nash would be a huge boon to the Rangers. He is, despite his struggles earlier this year, the team’s most consistent scoring threat.
Even if Nash only has 12 goals and 21 assists this season, he is still a presence on the ice. He is also very good defensively and adds a lot on the penalty kill and power play, two units that haven’t exactly shined since he went down. They currently rank 26th in the NHL in penalty kill percentage with 77.8 percent and 24th in power play percentage with a 17.4 mark. Nash obviously won’t vault the Rangers into the top tier in those areas, but he will certainly be a difference maker on those units.
Even if Nash doesn’t come back and start scoring right away, he can still help on the penalty kill, which has been the Achilles heel of the Rangers recently. He can also help on the power play where he can use his big body to open lanes.
The Rangers have missed Nash on both ends of the ice despite their record. Getting him back within the next 10-14 days should give the team a big boost in the playoffs, and he could actually be the final piece to the Rangers’ puzzle as they are certainly all in on trying to get that elusive Stanley Cup. Eric Staal might have been the trade deadline pickup, but Nash could be the difference maker if he is healthy.
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