New York Rangers Game Thread: Rangers Vs. Blue Jackets
Nash returns to Ohio.
Look at those standings. Look where the Rangers are and look where the Blue Jackets are. The Rangers need the win tonight. It doesn't matter if it's pretty, all that matters is the four point swing the Rangers can pull off if they overcome the Blue Jackets tonight. The Rangers are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and the Blue Jackets are 7-2-1 in their last 10. It's time for the Rangers to start putting some wins together and climbing up the standings because battling it out for a wildcard spot is not a comfortable place to be.
There are plenty of story lines to follow for tonight's game, but none more interesting than keeping tabs on all of the ex-Rangers and ex-Blue Jackets playing tonight. Normally I pull for ex-Rangers but tonight I hope they fail miserably, like Joe Fortunato failed at becoming a concert pianist.
Mike's Player to Watch: Rick Nash
He was my player to watch against Ottawa and he scored twice (one empty netter) so I figured I'd go ahead and pick him again. It's pretty appropriate considering this is his return to Columbus, a city that has very mixed feelings about the man that was the face of their franchise for so many years. The Rangers need their big guns in the final stretch here. The Rangers need their star players to be difference makers and start generating some offense because the Rangers defense has looked shaky lately. Look to Nash, St. Louis, Richards, Stepan, and Zuke to step it up here down the stretch because I'm not sure the Rangers are going to get to the postseason playing as inconsistently as they have been lately.