Rick Nash and the Rangers.
Say it a few times. Let it sink in.
For while Henrik Lundqvist is the bedrock of this proud Broadway franchise, he is not their only star, not the only player in red, white and blue capable of turning the tide of a game or a playoff series or maybe even − why not? − a postseason.
Lundqvist has been superb in this first-round clash with the Montreal Canadiens. Still, there was only so much a goalie could do on Tuesday night, only so many saves he could make in a pivotal Game 4 to prevent the Rangers from sliding to a seventh straight home postseason loss and a three games-to-one series deficit.
No, 'Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers' are formidable. But when No. 61 plays well enough that they can be referred to as 'Rick Nash and the Rangers,' these Blueshirts are at their most imposing, at their best, and capable of the greatness that they and their loyal fans annually expect.
And that is what Nash gave in this must-have 2-1 win, not just scoring the winning goal but positioning himself to score three or four if he had gotten the proper bounces, playing with an edge and a determination that make him − on such nights − the best player on the ice.
"He's a difference-maker − a top, elite player," center Mika Zibanejad said of Nash.
On a night when the Rangers desperately wanted to tell the Canadiens "not in our house," Nash said it with one forceful first-period move. He received a Kevin Hayes pass on the left wing in stride on the power play, with the Rangers up 1-0 on an early Jesper Fast goal, and then Nash did not fire a harmless deep wrist shot.
He blew past Habs defenseman Jeff Petry and bounded directly into Carey Price's hallowed crease, bowling over the Montreal goalie, whose embellishment drew a penalty on Nash and disallowed what could have been a Hayes tap-in rebound goal.
"I was trying to go to the net all night and trying to cause some chaos," Nash said.
"We've got a winning streak at home now," Nash said with a smirk.
The same goes for Nash's center, Derek Stepan, who hassled the Canadiens into two turnovers prior to Nash chances, including prior to Nash's game-winning goal. And the same applies to captain Ryan McDonagh, whose glove-down of a Montreal clearing attempt and deft pass to Nash at goal front on the decisive finish was as big a play as any made in this game.
"That's why we are the leadership group," said Stepan, who snapped out of an early-series funk with rookie Jimmy Vesey impressively manning Nash's opposite wing. "A lot of it can be talking with the younger guys, but the biggest thing about being a leader is leading by example, and I really liked our game tonight."
Lundqvist again was one of the Rangers' best players and needed late help from a post on a Shea Weber bomb from the point, after the officials put their whistles away and let the Habs do what they pleased. Hayes' line with Mats Zuccarello and J.T. Miller also did strong work.
But if the Rangers are going to assert themselves at their best, they are going to need their best to play that way alongside Lundqvist: Nash, the former 2014-15 MVP candidate through three-quarters of an incredible season; McDonagh, the 2014 Stanley Cup run leader, with 17 points in 25 magnificent games; Stepan, the series-winning overtime goal scorer in Game 7 against Washington in 2015. These are Alain Vigneault's horses.
The lingering question is whether Nash — scoreless in that painful Cup Final loss to the L.A. Kings, with 13 goals and 35 points in 65 career playoff games as a Ranger − can deliver in the postseason.
Tuesday night, he delivered all right, right to Carey Price's front door.