Will Martin St. Louis ever score a goal for the Rangers?
Through his first eight games as a Blueshirt, Martin St. Louis has been held goalless.
Yes. The answer to the question being asked in this headline is yes. Martin St. Louis will score for the Rangers. It might be Friday in Columbus, or Saturday in New Jersey. When he does, it will be his first goal as a New York Ranger, and quite honestly, it can't come sooner for the snake-bitten sniper.
But that's just it, St. Louis is a sniper, and a pure goal-scorer. It's why he was brought in to the Rangers: to provide that secondary scoring threat alongside Rick Nash. Coincidentally, both players went on pretty noteworthy scoring slumps as soon as they became teammates. Then Nash scored twice in Ottawa, and all of a sudden, the sky is no longer falling for the rugged power forward. All all it will take is one bounce and a bit of puck luck (something St. Louis has certainly been without during his brief Rangers tenure) to turn things around.
But here's what we do know: Absent of statistics (which obviously are pretty important) our eyeballs tell us St. Louis has been pretty darn effective. A zero shooting percentage is certainly below his career percentage of 13.6, and the 17.4 click he registered for the Lightning this season pre-trade. That number will regress, like all slumps do.
Most important though is the Rangers overall success. St. Louis should play a role in that given a player of his caliber. But if the success manifests itself in other players benefiting from the attention St. Louis draws that would be a pretty good result.
And keep this in mind: the eight-game goalless streak isn't even the longest for St. Louis this season. From a stretch in mid January to Feb 1., the dynamic forward went nine games without finding the back of the net. Kind of ridiculous to think that absent of these two droughts that have accounted for 17 games, St. Louis has tallied 29 goals in 53 games, or 0.55 per game.
All of this context is supposed to just show that nothing is wrong with St. Louis. This trade is not a bust, nor will it be until we're at a juncture with enough of a sample size to pass such a judgement. Players go through slumps, and to the dismay of Rangers fans and the club, his latest happened to coincide with his donning a Rangers sweater.
One other thing to keep in mind: It's no coincidence the 2014 second round pick the Rangers shipped Tampa Bay can become a first if the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Finals is because this trade is supposed to have that kind of impact. This is a win-now move that, by the estimation of two NHL general managers, should catapult the Rangers toward the top of the East.
Whether it does or does not remains to be seen, but just remember, the sky is not falling, and St. Louis will light the lamp pretty darn soon... and then do it again.
