Pressure mounts as Nash's goal drought drags on

	Nash (right) and the punchless Blue Jackets have had precious few celebrations in the cheery glow of the red goal light this season. Harry How/Getty Images
	MAILBAG Submit a comment or question for Allan. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

There are all kinds of things a 22-year-old guy can go without for an entire month. Dinner with his girlfriend's parents. Balancing his checkbook. Clean clothes.

But when you're a 22-year-old guy named Rick Nash, the one thing you can't go a month without is scoring a goal.

Yet, somehow, amazingly, that's exactly what the Columbus sniper has done. It's now been a month, a streak of nine frustrating games, since Nash last lit the lamp on Oct. 9 against the Coyotes.

Back then, everything looked to be on track. Three games. Three lamp-lighters. The kid who led with league with 41 goals in 2003-04 and then followed it up with 31 in just 54 games last season, looked ready to launch his assault on 50. Then, just like that, they stopped going in.

Pucks that once instinctively found a sliver of daylight now crashed off a crest -- or worse, missed the cage entirely. Bounces that used to land crisply on Nash's blade now caromed harmlessly over it. So instead of 50, Nash finds himself on pace for 20. Not bad for most 22-year-old wingers. Terrible for a kid known as The Franchise.

Nash's drought coincides with Columbus' 2-7 streak, but it's fair to say there are plenty of reasons for the team's struggles: the curious coaching tactics of Gerard Gallant; the Jackets' inability to compete five-on-five; their incompetence in the faceoff circle; and their lack of skill and experience on the blueline. Yep, plenty of reasons.

But the one factor you can't ignore is the 28 goals they scored through their first 12 games, the lowest total in the league. That means there's an inexcusable wave of offensive ineptitude sweeping over the entire corps of  forwards, but it all comes back to Nash -- the go-to guy -- and his inability to find the back of the net.

Early on in his slump, it could be argued that Nash wasn't giving himself enough opportunities to score. He took just 23 shots in the first eight games. But he's turned that around, unleashing 20 in his last four matches, including a season-high eight against Calgary on Nov. 3. That hasn't done the trick -- yet -- but as Wayne Gretzky once said, you don't score on 100 percent of the shots you don't take. Firing the puck towards the net at every opportunity, even from the unlikeliest of angles, is the surest way to get things rolling.

Nash also needs to simplify his game. Skating with Euro-dazzlers like David Vyborny, Nikolai Zherdev and Sergei Fedorov has led Nash, on more than one occasion, to get a little too cute. Instead of trying to make the perfect play, Nash should rely on what made him the top pick of the 2002 draft in the first place: his big body and his willingness to charge the net with malice aforethought -- old time hockey, as Reg Dunlop might say.

As of Nov. 9, Nash had accumulated an underwhelming total of nine points in 12 games. To his credit, he has found other ways to contribute. He has used his size effectively along the boards, and his defensive work continues to improve. But as important as those contributions can be, and as critical as they are to his overall development as a player, Nash's effectiveness is judged by one category: scoring goals.

Reports out of Columbus suggest a move to right wing for Thursday's game against the Blues. Incessant line-juggling may be part of the problem for the Blue Jackets, but this experiment has some potential, given Nash's proclivity for coming down the right side even when he's serving on his natural left wing. And sometimes, something as simple as being moved out of a comfort zone is all it takes for a player to snap out of a funk.

Ugly slumps like this eventually come to an end. Nash certainly hopes so. Until he gets back on track, the pressure ... and the losses ... and the heat ... will continue to mount.