Rick Nash Was Catalyst in Improbable Comeback vs Wild
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October 27, 2014 is a date that Rangers fans (as well as Anthony Duclair after scoring his first NHL goal that night) will never forget. Down 3-0 heading into the 3rd period against the Minnesota Wild, the New York Rangers launched and completed a near-impossible comeback that saw them score 5 goals on 12 shots to win the game 5-4. The Rangers were on the penalty kill for 14 out of the first 40 minutes, with Chris Kreider and John Moore ejected from the game and receiving 5 minute majors for their illegal checks on Jonas Brodin and Erik Haula, respectively. Somehow, they managed to forget about everything, and do something you only see happen in NHL 15.
Rick Nash has arguably been the Rangers’ best player through the first 9 games of the season. He has 11 points in that span, and is tied with Corey Perry to lead the NHL with 9 goals. He also has 8 hits in those 9 games; he had a whopping 11 all of last season. He’s been noticeable almost every time he’s been on the ice, he’s been a lot more physical, and he’s returned to the presence opposing teams fear of when they face him. Coaches have also returned to keeping an extra set of eyes on him. While Nash never fell off completely, he’s a much bigger threat now than he was last year. He might’ve scored 26 goals last season, but nowhere near the 40 he’s put up in Columbus, but after that iffy season for the all-star forward, he’s completely turned his game around 180 degrees.
Darcy Kuemper, Minnesota’s starting goaltender, started the game with a .966 save percentage and 0.81 goals-against average. He only faced 8 shots through 2 periods, and it seemed as if he would cruise to yet another shutout victory, his 4th in 6 games. In part due to the Wild’s miserable powerplay, Kuemper and the rest of the their squad lost their focus in the 3rd. The young netminder’s stats dropped to a .934 save percentage and 1.56 GAA for the season.
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Nash has been the unofficial
on-ice captain of the Rangers. Don’t think in terms of letters on the jerseys, but think of the way he pushes the rest of the team to do better. Last night against the Wild, he was solid defensively, coming in deep in the defensive zone to make a play, then
hustled all the way back to make something happen 200 feet
away. My very first article on this site was about #61 and how he needs to perform better if the Rangers want another shot at the cup (https://bluelinestation.com/2014/07/25/rick-nash-needs-elevate-game-to-standard/). Who knows, maybe he even gave it a read! The team was down and out last night, but he riled up the team on the ice, and was the catalyst in the unfeasible comeback against the Minnesota Wild. He had the secondary assist to Kevin Klein‘s second goal of the season (he’s still the only Rangers defenseman to put the puck in the net), and followed up with a goal less than 2 minutes later.
This is the Rick Nash we traded for back in the summer of 2012.