New York Rangers: Is Rick Nash beginning to heat up?

The New York Rangers were able to bounce back from a horrible Game 3 loss with a win in Game 4 to even the series.

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After back-to-back games of allowing six goals, Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist played like his normal self. After the great game for Lundqvist, pressure now shifts to Lightning’s goalie Ben Bishop, who allowed five goals for the second straight game.

The Rangers were outshot by the Lightning 39-24, but Bishop struggled to stop the puck. Lundqvist made 38 saves in the win, as he helped Rangers’ fans breathe a sigh of relief.

One reason for the Rangers’ offensive success in Game 4 was the play of Rick Nash. It has been another horrible playoffs for Nash this season, but Game 4 was a great sign that he maybe is finally going to play like he did in the regular season.

“[When you’re not scoring] it’s natural to grip your stick a little tighter and not see the ice as well,” Nash said to Larry Brooks of the New York Post. “The puck doesn’t feel comfortable on your stick.”

Late in the first period, Nash scored his third goal of the playoffs to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.

“No matter who [was back], I was taking it to the net. My mindset coming into the game was to do everything I could to get to the inside,” said Nash to Brooks. “I’ve been trying everything I could, but I was on the outside too much.

“That first goal by Nash, that’s the way he scores his goals, taking the puck to the net and just show[ing] how strong he is and the speed he has,” Lundqvist said to Brooks. “So that was great to see. It kind of set the tone for us.”

Nash would score his second goal of the game in the third period on the power-play.

It has been a struggle for Nash, but he wasn’t the only player that the Rangers needed to step up. Martin St. Louis has flown under the radar due to Nash’s struggles, but heading into Game 4, St. Louis hadn’t scored.

Before the goal from Nash in the third period, St. Louis also scored on the power-play also.

If Nash and St. Louis start producing, this Rangers’ offense could continue to produce like it has been in the past two games. Nash still has a long way to go to make up for his playoff struggles, as he still only has nine goals in 57 playoff games with the Rangers.

Next: Who was the best Ranger of all-time?

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