The Nash Injury Timeline
With the Rangers not confirming the nature of Rick Nash's injury, there has been a ton of speculation from the flu to re-aggravating an old groin injury to a concussion.
So I decided to setup a Nash injury timeline to help us out.
It all started with a little over 13 minutes left in the Rangers 4-3 shootout victory against the Bruins on February 12th when Milan Lucic did this to Nash...
The Rangers were apparently not happy about the hit or that Lucic was not penalized.
While the hit did seem to stun Nash, he was more than fine when he abused Tuukka Rask later in the game to help give the Rangers the victory...
The Rangers didn't practice the next day, but Nash was on the ice with his teammates on Thursday morning for the pregame skate in preparation for the Rangers game against the Islanders that night.
And Nash's prep must have been good, as in 24:59 of action Nash had an assist, was a +1 with two shots on goal while adding three blocked shots.
Then on Friday the 15th, the Rangers sent Chris Kreider down to the CT Whale.
Meanwhile that night at a Rangers season subscriber event, the organization told attendees that Nash, who was originally scheduled to participate, was not able to make it because he was "sick."
On Saturday, John Tortorella told the press that Nash was not at practice because he was given a "maintenance day" due to the amount of hockey he had played this season.
Later that afternoon, the Rangers made a surprise recall of Kreider from Hartford.
In his Sunday morning column, Larry Brooks at the NY Post, who is usually dialed in to what is happening behind the Rangers' locker room walls, floats the idea that Nash may have suffered a head injury on the Lucic hit.
That night, both Nash and Kreider took warm-ups before the game against the Capitals, but it was Nash who ends up in the line-up.
In his pre-game press conference, Torts tells a reporter that it was “None of your business” why Nash might need some rest. He then admitted that Nash was "banged up" but indicated there was never a doubt he'd play the game and he looked healthy.
Nash picks up an assist, is a +1 with eight shots on goal and one hit in 22:33 of action during the Rangers 2-1 victory over the Caps.
This Monday morning the Rangers put a smile on my face by recalling Brandon Mashinter after Darroll Power suffered a concussion in the Capitals game. Kreider remains with the team.
Later that afternoon, Nash participates in a full practice.
On Tuesday morning, we are given the news that Mashinter will make his Rangers debut that night against the Canadiens, while Kreider would be the healthy scratch.
Then just two hours before their game against Montreal, the Rangers announce that Nash will not be in the line-up. Tortorella did not elaborate on the reasoning saying just "Nope, he's out."
Yesterday, Jeff Klein at the New York Times reports that the injury which held Nash out of the Montreal game is believed to be related to a groin injury he sustained while playing with HC Davos of the Swiss National League A during the lockout.
And finally, yesterday afternoon we're informed that Nash would not accompany the team to Ottawa for their game tonight, but said he may meetup with them for Saturday night's game in Montreal.
...so there you have it folks. Not sure if I've confused you even more or hopefully shed some light on certain aspects. What I do know is this, over the course of the week the Rangers have said Nash was sick, needed a maintenance day due to the amount of hockey he's played, is banged up and looked healthy. Hopefully these mixed messages are being conveyed to protect him, not hide something.
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Plays like this make you wonder why there are still situations in which it's legal to target an opposing player's head. And Lucic DID target Nash's head when he rammed it into the glass with his forearm.
It seems from what we've seen Nash is a gamer, and I doubt he would sit out a game for a Groin / Shoulder injury that didn't keep him out of the Caps game. Sucks to prob say he could be dealing with post concussion syndrome. Hope he gets better soon.
So, the Rangers were upset with the hit on Nash. But did they do anything about it? This team needs a heavy weight to go after guys like Lucic.
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I still love on the shootout goal how Rask starts checking the ice where his left foot slid away from him when Nash cut back, as if to say "Oh, i would have gotten back and stopped but this ice is just too slippery..."
@TheNYRBlog Its not a concussion. Zero chance they let him play after if it was. I'd suggest its combo of Groin, sick, tired...
The Rangers medical staff would absolutely know at this point whether its a concussion or not, the severity not so much, but they would definitely know. As to why the Rangers are being as tight lipped as the military on this is something I'm scratching my head at. What are the disadvantages of disclosing information on Nash?
@nick__i I agree, I.M.O. It should be mandated by the NHL. that all teams must disclose the injuries to all the players.Fans deserve to know!!
@NlordYstanleyR @KevinDeLury good point, and I guess the latest Hossa hit is a perfect example of that.
@KevinDeLury @nick__i I also think if teams know he had a slight concussion or head injury they may be looking to hit him any chance they get.
@nick__i Absolutely, but they also might put him in position to take advantage of him defensively if they know he has a bum wheel.
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Thanks for finding that video. I've watched this over and over now. The hit looks pretty clean -- shoulder to shoulder, not from behind, just a hard hit -- but even though Nash's head hit the glass anyway, the elbow does come up with the follow through and that was probably the worst of Nash's head hitting the glass. He did look stunned.
@AG_Blue I agree, watching it over and over those are the kind of hits I wish we threw more. Nothing about the contact with the glass/boards seems out of the ordinary. If that concussed him maybe its time to upgrade his helmet. He did grab at his face as he came down, but could have just been trying to draw something. And then the skating after looks a little lethargic, but Nash seems to be one of these guys who's so big he doesn't look all that graceful on skates until he's zipping by you.
@johnnyb3910 -- Nash's following hit on Lucic was pretty soft, but he did hold him up a little after that. When he grabbed at his face, I thought he was just adjusting his visor.
@TheNYRBlog I gotta stop reading these cause every time I read about Torts talking to the press it just pisses me off. No need for it.
@TheNYRBlog not really your fault more due to the fact that Torts goes out of his way to be an asshole to the press. Serves no purpose to me
The messages are mixed because concussions are weird injuries that give you headaches one minute and then nothing the next. You don't miss a season subscriber event because of a groin injury.
If you had a headache one day, why assume it's a concussion? I get headaches when I don't drink coffee. The players don't recognize what's happened because they haven't been through it before.
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@GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG @gravey94 @KevinDeLury Before the advent of political correctness, the world was a simpler place where insults were genuine...LOL!
@gravey94 @KevinDeLury hahahahahaha how did they get away with that!? So good.
@GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG @KevinDeLury @gravey94 "All we got on this team are a buncha Jews, s***s, n*****s, pansies, and a booger-eatin' moron!"...Classic!
@GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG @KevinDeLury @gravey94 They really need a sarcasm button on this thing. lol
@KevinDeLury @gravey94 just to be clear, I knew it was Seinfeld and when I saw lupus I just thought of Walter Matthau crushing beers in front of 12 year olds haha
...and from the timeline they clearly DID allow him hear the ice...still, why all the secrecy?
