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Hartnett: Rangers May Be Rolling, But They Need Nash To Get Going

By Sean Hartnett
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Rick Nash knows he's capable of raising his game. He had just one goal and five assists in his first 12 games.

It's clear that the Rangers need more end product from their $7.8 million man.

They got it Tuesday. Nash scored once and added an assist in the 3-0 win over Carolina, the Blueshirts' sixth straight win.

"It's frustrating when you're supposed to score goals on a great team and you can't achieve that," Nash said.

The 6-foot-4 winger is a purposeful character. He wants to pull his share of the weight and meet the high expectations placed on him. The Rangers aren't an ordinary team and Nash isn't an ordinary player. They're aiming for a date with Lord Stanley and need Nash to recapture his A-game and replicate it under the pressured playoff spotlight if they are going to get over that final hurdle and deliver a championship parade to the streets of lower Manhattan.

There was more authority in Nash's game on Tuesday. He cut to the net with intent and backhanded a goal past Cam Ward midway through the first period and later made a strong play to protect the puck along the half boards and set up captain Ryan McDonagh's first goal of the season. When things are going well for Nash, few forwards in the league can cause the kind of havoc in which he's capable.

"You can sense that the opponent smells danger when he's on the ice," assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson said in a recent interview with WFAN.com.

Previously, his first goal of the season came under unusual circumstances. During the final minute of an Oct. 22 home victory over the Arizona Coyotes, Nash was awarded an empty-netter after forward Mikkel Boedker hooked him from behind on a clear chance on the vacant net.

The 11-2-2 Rangers lead the Metropolitan Division in large part to all-world goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's sizzling start. His 1.65 goals-against average and .949 save percentage are the best numbers he's posted in each category through his first 12 games of any season of his career. That save percentage is also the best of any goaltender in team history through 12 games since the league began tracking the statistic in 1975-76.

While Lundqvist is certainly capable of making a run at the Hart and Vezina trophies, there's going to be some point in the season when the supreme Swede is going to need a little help from his friends.

That's where Nash comes in. He's supposed to be the lead dog goal-getter. Through 13 games, the effort has been there and he's been doing many things right. He's consistently creating scoring chances for teammates and jump-starting attacks. The only thing that's been missing is the goals.

Last season, he was a monster in all areas of the ice and filled up the stat columns on a nightly basis. He was the only player to finish in the NHL's top 10 in goals, even-strength goals, shorthanded goals, game-winning goals, takeaways, shots on goal, and plus-minus.

"Just the way he plays in all three zones, it brings a certain dynamic to our team," defenseman Keith Yandle said. "His big reach and the way he can skate -- it's amazing to see the work ethic that he puts in every day. For a superstar guy like himself, just like Hank, he pushes our team."

Since acquiring Nash from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a summer 2012 blockbuster, the Rangers are 36-4-1 in games he has recorded at least two points and have won 14 straight when he's collected at least two points.

For Nash to provide full value, he's going to need to raise his anemic 5.4 shooting percentage. An 8.4 percent dropoff from last season can be attributed to the lack of a challenge he's presenting opposing goaltenders. The majority of his shots are coming from situations when opposing goalies are set and their vision is clear. He has also frequently relied on low-percentage wraparound plays.

Nash thrives when he challenges the middle of the ice and when he gets in position to receive passes across the slot. According to research done by MSG television analyst Steve Valiquette, Nash scored 14 of his 42 goals last season from feeds across the slot.

Tuesday's performance was a glimpse of what the Rangers need to see more regularly from Nash -- more authority and more hard strides to get into threatening areas to get open and to put himself in position to capitalize on rebound chances.

Follow Sean on Twitter at @HartnettHockey

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