Rick Nash's resurgence makes Rangers a threat

COLUMBUS, Ohio - During last spring's playoffs, the public debate about New York Rangers winger Rick Nash centered on whether he had permanently lost his scoring touch. He looked a stride slower, a few pounds heavier, less driven.

Seven months later, the debate about Nash is whether he is the NHL's most valuable player.

What makes that story intriguing is that Nash has no explanation for why he finds himself on pace to be a 50-goal scorer. With 28 goals, he's tied for the lead in the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy race. But there is no dramatic story here about Nash making major changes at age 30 to climb back on top.

Other than doing more sprints and track work last summer, Nash said, he didn't make too many changes coming into this season. Although Nash had three goals in 25 playoff games last season, he didn't feel like a player on the decline. He still trusted his abilities, and that is crucial for elite athletes.

"I felt like my chances were there last year but they just weren't going in," Nash said. "We would look at a chance sheet after almost every game, and the chances were there every single night."

Last season he felt unlucky, and this season everything seems different. He couldn't find the puck last season, and now it seems to follow him like a magnet. Maybe it's confidence. Maybe it's karma. Maybe he just isn't thinking about it.

"I can't put my finger on just one thing that is the reason," Nash said. "The biggest thing is my teammates believe in me. They stood by me. The organization believed in me. Pucks have been going in. My linemates have been finding me. I'm getting good bounces. If you watch our games every night, a lot of the goals are lucky. It's a combination of things that are going right."

It's hard to swallow the idea that luck ever has much to do with Nash, who scored 30 or more goals in seven of his first nine seasons while playing with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"The consistency over his career is tremendous," New York Islanders center John Tavares said. "He has always been a hard player to play against because of his size, skill, speed ... and hockey IQ."

Although the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Final last spring, there was not overwhelming trust in their ability to duplicate the feat. But the Rangers in recent weeks have looked like they have a chance to be better than they were last spring.

"He is a big reason why the Rangers are having the season they are," Tavares said.

It seemed fitting that the All-Star Game this season would be held in Columbus, where Nash began his rise to stardom. Blue Jackets fans booed him Saturday during the skills contest and when he touched the puck Sunday. They think he deserves it because he asked for the trade that sent him to the Rangers.

The truth is he deserves applause and handshakes for helping grow hockey in Columbus. Many fans who watched the event in Columbus were interested because of the work Nash did in the Blue Jackets' early years.

He has always been a classy performer, never one to blame his troubles on someone else.

In Columbus, he took the high road, as those who know him would expect. He said it still was a strange feeling returning to Nationwide Arena. But what he primarily said was that he always would have a special fondness for the city. He rattled off a few of his favorite memories without even having to think about it.

"I'm over the boos," he said. "It doesn't affect me anymore. But I feel like I put a lot of work into this city and this organization. I feel like I put half of my career into Columbus and tried to build hockey the best I could in the area. It seems to be taking off pretty good."

In Sunday's pregame introductions, Nash received some applause, but mostly boos. He was booed after scoring his two goals. It's too bad Columbus fans couldn't have let it go and said, "Thanks for the memories."

With four goals in 37 playoff games with New York, Nash has something to prove to Rangers fans. But no one today talks about Nash being on decline.

With Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne out with a knee injury, Nash's contributions should be enough to make him one of the favorites in the Hart Trophy race. Who has been more important to his contending team than Nash has been to the Rangers? He deserves to be mentioned with Rinne, Ryan Getzlaf and others.

But Nash truly isn't the kind of guy who thinks about individual trophies. When he was asked how big it would be to win a Richard trophy 12 seasons after his first one earned in Columbus, Nash said it wouldn't be big at all.

"I want the other one that we were close to last year," Nash said. "As you get older in your career, you want to help the team win. The personal goals don't matter as much as the team goals."

PHOTOS: 2015 NHL All-Star game