Nash Brings Different Dimension to Bruins' Lineup

BostonBruins.com - Rick Nash has played against David Krejci for the better part of a decade. And the 33-year-old spoke glowingly of the center's talents during his introductory meeting with the Boston media on Sunday afternoon in Buffalo.
"It's a wonderful opportunity to get a chance to play with a world-class player like that," said Nash before his Bruins debut on Sunday night. "It's just something where you let the coaches worry more about that stuff and see where you fit in, but I've played Boston for many years, and they're a tough team to play against with a lot of talent, so I'm happy to be a part of it."

It did not take long for Nash to become the beneficiary of Krejci's abilities. Acquired from the New York Rangers on Sunday morning for Ryan Spooner, Matt Beleskey, defense prospect Ryan Lindgren, a 2018 first-round pick, and a 2019 seventh-round pick, Nash slotted in on Krejci's right wing during the Bruins' 4-1 loss to Buffalo.
Nash ripped off nine shots with five landing on goal - and one clanking off the post - in 17:27 of ice time against the Sabres. The former first overall pick played mostly with Krejci and Jake DeBrusk, though coach Bruce Cassidy also mixed in David Backes at times later in the game.
"He's a world-class player," Nash said of Krejci. "He sees the ice so well and his defensive game is strong too. He was fun to play with for one night so far."
"[Nash] was good," added Cassidy. "He did as advertised to me. He wins pucks, he got to the net, he got his shot off. He's strong on it. He'll be a welcome addition for us…I know he didn't see the best Boston Bruins team, I think he's aware of that. But he was good."

Nash, who is an unrestricted free agent at season's end, had not played in a week with the Rangers sitting him out in anticipation of dealing the 6-foot-4, 211-pound winger. Despite some time off, the Brampton, Ontario, native said he felt little rust during his first game with the Black & Gold.
"I felt pretty good," said Nash, who has 18 goals and 28 points in 60 games this season. "I had my legs. It was my first game in a week, so a bit nervous about how I would feel. A few times I could see myself kind of overthinking the system. It's tough, a totally different system.
"It's going to take a couple games to get in sync with everything that has been going on. It's tough when you've played a system for so long to mentally turn it over to totally switch neutral zone forecheck, D-zone, O-zone."
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney believed adding Nash was an endorsement of the club's performance to this point. Despite dropping back-to-back games in regulation for the first time since mid-November, Boston has 82 points - the sixth-most in the NHL - and sits a point behind Toronto for second place in the Atlantic Division with four games in hand.
"Our players have made a push, and I wanted to inch that along if we could and reward it in a way," said Sweeney. "Our coaching staff, in the meetings that we had, identified that that was an area that we could improve upon…nothing against Ryan [Spooner] because he has been a big part of our club, and we wish him well."

Krejci has often thrived with big, physical, skilled players - i.e. Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, Jarome Iginla - flanking him, and Sweeney felt the Bruins would benefit from having that type of winger complement their No. 2 pivot.
"We hope [Nash] is going to be the impact player he has been," said Sweeney. "I think we've identified that playing on that second line with David would be a boost to our hockey club, and we need it to be. He's looking forward to the challenge, and hopefully we get to where we want to here in the next little while."
"He's a great player," added Krejci. "He's got size, he's got speed, he's got a great shot. He works hard, he plays on both ends of the ice. I'm obviously excited to play with him. Getting practice is going to be good."
That is not to say Sweeney wasn't pleased with the play of Spooner. The 26-year-old, who was drafted by the Bruins in the second round of the 2010 NHL Draft, had 9 goals and 25 points in 39 games this season while playing the majority of the time with Krejci and DeBrusk. He was also was an important contributor to Boston's power play.
"Nothing against Ryan Spooner. To tell you the truth, I disagree with [the media] that he's a natural centerman. I think he's a very good player, and we're going to miss his creativity and certainly on the power play. He has fit in well there," said Sweeney.
"I just think that Rick Nash brings a little different dimension to that line in puck protection and the ability to get to the hard areas when, really, the season becomes even harder to get there.
"Hopefully David will have some juice as a result of this and that line, in general, will find a way to finish a few more goals, and more importantly, continue to play well defensively, which Rick has played in the past."

Nash, a three-time 40-goal scorer and seven-time All-Star with Columbus and New York, is excited to be thrust into a push for the postseason.
"I've only been here five minutes and you can kind of sense that buzz and that excitement and the energy that a winning team has," said Nash. "I just want to bring my style of hockey, try to be a big power forward, bring some offense, be responsible defensively, kind of a complete player.
"They're such a good team. They have so many good players. You just kind of want to see where you fit in and not ruffle any feathers."