Alain Vigneault’s strongest show of support for Henrik Lundqvist as the club’s standard-bearing goaltender manifested itself Saturday afternoon in the coach’s response to a question about Rick Nash.
Asked whether the Blueshirts could become the five-on-five team they need to be in order to succeed if Nash continues to struggle, Vigneault chuckled at the obvious before answering.
“That’s like saying, ‘Can we win a lot of games without Hank playing like Hank?’ ” said Vigneault, who will go with Lundqvist Sunday night in Tampa following three straight Cam Talbot starts. “They are two elite guys.
“It’s like if one part of your game is off, the power play, penalty kill, five-on-five or goaltending,” the coach said after his club practiced at the Capitals complex in Arlington, Va., before the flight to Tampa. “Every game, your best players have to be your best players.
“I’m not inventing anything here, it’s just a fact.”
Lundqvist’s travails have been well documented. Nash has been blanked in seven straight and has scored one goal in his last 10 matches. The Big Easy has six goals in 22 games on the season.
“With Nash and Henrik, the one thing I know is that they’re committed, and their will,” said Vigneault, who chatted on the ice with Nash for a few minutes after practice concluded. “They’re going to try and do everything possible to get on the right track, so you have to be supportive and work with them.
“That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Following Friday night’s 3-2 defeat to the Capitals, Nash said he thought he’d had better looks in the match than he had gotten during the nine-game homestand that had concluded on Monday. Vigneault did not agree.
“To be honest, I thought it was one of Rick’s more ordinary games lately,” the coach said. “I thought he had better looks in the games before.”
Nash, who has played far too much on the perimeter during his slump, expressed frustration over his lack of production, but declined to place his drought in a career context.
“I’ve never been a guy to measure things that way,” he said. “I’m only frustrated because I’m not doing my part to help the team win.
“Whether it’s this or that regarding my career isn’t important.”