Pain in the Nash!
Bone bruise benches Rick
A WEEK-LONG All-Star break couldn’t cure what ails Rick Nash.
The Rangers (27-17-5, 59 points) reconvened Monday in Greenburgh for practice ahead of Tuesday’s tilt against the Devils (25-20-5, 55 points) in Newark, but Nash did not join his teammates on the rink. He is still nursing the bone bruise in his left leg which kept him out the final two games before the break and won’t suit up on Tuesday.
Nash, who has 12 goals and 21 assists in 45 games this season, had a CT scan Monday morning, which didn’t reveal anything new.
“It’s just a bad bone bruise and it’s taking longer than our medical group thought it would,” Alain Vigneault said. “He’s still feeling some pain and having a tough time walking.”
The winger got hurt in the third period of the Rangers’ win in Carolina on Jan. 22. Ryan McDonagh also didn’t skate Monday, but his attendance wasn’t required as he returned from All-Star duties in Nashville.
Though Nash’s goal-scoring production has been way down from last year’s career-high of 42 goals, he is still a crucial presence within the locker room.
“Rick Nash, he’s kind of a quiet leader in our group here,” Derek Stepan said. “He leads by example and he brings it every night he comes. He’s a top-six forward that’s gonna be badly missed, but at the same time injuries happen. Good teams and the great teams find ways to have guys step into roles and make sure it doesn’t hurt our group. We have to find a way to get it done with a big hole up front.”
Stepan is one of the players the Rangers will need a lot from during the team’s final 33 games, regardless of Nash’s status. The center admitted when he returned from broken ribs on Dec. 18 after missing just three weeks, he initially was protecting the ribs too much.
As he got more comfortable, his requisite top-six form has worked its way back. Stepan notched six points (1 goal, five assists) in the Rangers’ last six games before the break, and he says he’s feeling more like himself.
“The game slows down a little bit when you’re at 100 percent, at least for me,” Stepan said. “When I’m playing, when I feel good about my game and I’m doing the right things, I make more plays because I see more plays. Maybe early on with the injury I wasn’t seeing or I was rushing a play. There’s many things that kind of go with it, but I certainly feel better. Not only that, but my production offensively, creating offense and doing the right things defensively has definitely shown.”