Rick Nash appears stuck in energy-saving mode.
It’s Nov. 8 and the six-foot-four, 213-pound New York Rangers winger is cruising around the neutral zone at the Air Canada a fraction of half speed. He coasts east-west along the Maple Leafs blueline while his teammates rush the length of the ice on the power-play.
Nash is always the first member of the New York Rangers’ top line to skate off for a change, and if the power forward throws more than one hit per night, it’s an anomaly.
Yet with his team down by one in the second period, he charges at a loose puck, beats his man, cuts hard to the Toronto Maple Leafs net and forces goaltender Jonathan Bernier to make a stellar pad save on a full-speed deke.
Later, with Saturday’s game knotted at three in the third period, it’s Nash who tiptoes into the Maple Leafs slot unchecked, takes a bouncing Martin St. Louis pass at his skates, and flicks the puck past Bernier to give his team the lead.
Although the Rangers would go on to lose the game 5-4 (and the following one on Sunday), Nash has been the brightest light on a team beset by injuries, average goaltending and an inability to close out games.
Last June New York was playing for the Stanley Cup Final, a series in which Nash failed to score. They woke up this morning 12th in the East.
But don’t blame Rick Nash for that.
“He just seems like a different guy this year. He’s just really focused and working really hard on and off the ice,” defenceman Dan Girardi told Sportsnet last week. “He’s been getting us leads and tying up games.”
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All the more important following a relatively underwhelming post-season in which Nash scored just thrice in 25 playoff games — poor results for his deepest run yet. Though his fancy possession-based stats were just fine in the spring, Nash’s career goals-per-game rate in the regular season (.435) pops in comparison to what he’s done in the post-season (.122).
“From the second he arrived to training camp, we saw something different about him,” Girardi says. “From Day 1 he’s been dynamite for us.”
With 11 goals through the team’s 14 games, Nash holds a share of the league lead for the Maurice Richard Trophy (co-leader Corey Perry of Anaheim was placed on injured reserve Sunday).
Even more impressive is that 10 of Nash’s 11 goals have come at even strength – an NHL best. And since being traded to New York from Columbus during the summer of 2012, a whopping 45 percent of his goals have come in the third period. It’s early, but Nash is on pace for 64 goals, which would crush his previous best of 41 in 2003-04.
Regardless of how many he finishes with, none of Nash’s goals this year are likely to be as memorable as the one he scored against the Leafs on Oct. 14. After converting a St. Louis pass in the first period, Nash got word his wife Jessica’s water had broke and he bolted from the rink mid-game to witness the birth of his first child.
Nash’s hot start could be a result of his possession stats and penchant for firing the puck (50 shots already) finally baring fruit.
“I played with Rick all last year, and it seems like he hasn’t changed much,” says teammate Derek Stepan. “He got those looks last year, and for whatever reason couldn’t find the back of the net. And this year it’s poppin’ in.”
Or it could be that he’s fully healed from a concussion, his second as a Ranger, that forced him to miss six weeks last season. Or that he dedicated his summer to running track and increasing his cardio. Or it could be that he’s found chemistry with new linemates Martin St. Louis and Derick Brassard, that the left wing is treating him better than the right.
Or it could be that the 30-year-old star is using his big body smarter, not harder.
Minor hockey coaches who preach the value of “short shifts, boys” would be wise to show their players Nash’s stat line. Despite averaging more shifts than any other Ranger this season (26.4) and seeing regular action on both the power play and penalty kill, Nash actually skates a minute less per game than his linemates, and two-and-a-half minutes less than he did his first season in the Big Apple.
No one among the NHL’s top-11 goal-getters sees less time on ice. And only one Ranger, fourth-liner Tanner Glass (37 seconds), takes shorter shifts than Nash’s 39-second runs.
Unless there’s a chance to pounce in transition, Nash’s shifts are mostly patience and positioning. His ability to anticipate has yielded 16 takeaways, fifth best in the league. Like a predator sleeping until he sees food, nary a stride is wasted. But when he sniffs an opportunity to score, the feet and hands take over.
“What strikes me the most is his determination – taking pucks to the net,” says Henrik Lundqvist. “And with the skill and size he has, he’s taking advantage of that, which is good.”
You’d think it was impossible that Nash can maintain the 22 per cent shooting rate he’s enjoying, but when you review his 11 goals, they’ve all come from high-percentage areas: rebounds and one-timers from just outside the blue paint, snaps from the slot, even a deflection off his ass – parked where it should be, right in front of the net.
“Rick’s a pretty quiet guy. He’ll only say something when something needs to be said,” Giradri says. “But he leads with his on-ice play – battling, taking pucks to the net and scoring big goals for us.”
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