Nash

With two more goals by Rick Nash you'd think it would be an inopportune time to state he is undervalued. It's not and he is. Nash capped off an all-around game by diving to free the puck in the last seconds. Yeoman work on the penalty kill, taking the body when needed and getting those goals.

Beautiful feed from Umberger led to Nash's second tally. Nice to see RJ give it up for the setup. Back to .500.


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After the pressure lifts

Now that the games don't matter for this year, the team gets it rolling. We're left with some questions that spring forth from this puzzling season:

• The team is 9-5-4 since Noel took over for Hitchcock. Is he the answer for next season?


• As of late Steve Mason has been playing well, defeating the Blackhawks twice down their stretch run. His goals against average is still almost a point higher than last year. Is it the sophomore slump or is this late run what we should expect next year?


• Is this the year that Russell turns the corner and realizes his potential? His plus/minus is at even over the course of the year. In years past, he was well below break even. Will next year see him push into the positive side?


• Brassard must come back stronger next year. He has 8 goals in 73 games this season after having 10 goals in 31 games before injury.

Wait Til Next Year

Howson cleans house by trading a few expiring contracts. Good luck to Raffi Torres in Buffalo. Now the team plays out the string to what will be dwindling crowds. So much for building on last year's playoff run.


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