PITTSBURGH — Meet Rick Nash, the Rangers’ penalty-killing forward who makes $7.8 million per season.
There was little time for the Garden fans to boo Nash on Sunday, as his team was en route to an emotional 3-1 win over the Penguins in Game 6 of this second-round playoff series, forcing a Game 7 at Consol Energy Center Tuesday night.
Having coming back from 3-1 down in the series, and having rallied around the death of the mother of veteran winger Martin St. Louis, it was almost an afterthought that Nash still hasn’t scored in this postseason.
Not so much for Nash.
“I still put pressure on myself,” Nash told The Post after Monday’s practice in Westchester, having played 1:26 of his 16:27 on the penalty kill on Sunday, while getting just 15 seconds of power-play time after being bounced from his man-advantage unit for Chris Kreider. “I have to produce, I have to help this team win. Whether it’s having a great playoffs, or not so good, there is always pressure on me.”
Asked if Brad Richards has been a de facto captain since the trade of former captain Ryan Callahan on March 5, coach Alain Vigneault said, “without a doubt” Richards is one of the team’s top leaders. By prefacing his comments by saying a team needs a lot of players to lead, Vigneault knows Richards has a pedigree for leadership.
“If there is one guy that has taken more of a ‘Take-charge, helping everybody along, being a real good teammates, sharing his experience,’ Brad is definitely up there,” Vigneault said.
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin had a moderate Mark Messier moment on Monday, even if his answer to reporters in Pittsburgh was lost in translation.
“We know we can win tomorrow,” said the Russian Malkin, “and we’ll do it.”
An absolute power this series, Malkin has three goals and three assists in six games, playing a touch over 20 minutes per game.
Rangers fourth-line center Dominic Moore has bounced the Penguins twice in Game 7s over his career, both in Pittsburgh. The first was as a member of the Canadiens in 2010, when he scored once and was plus-2 in a 5-2 win in the Eastern Conference semifinals. In 2011, as a member of a Lightning team that came back from 3-1 down, he had the first assist on Sean Bergenheim’s game-winner in a 1-0 win in the East quarters.
Of the Rangers’ 20 players expected in the lineup on Tuesday — there were no line changes or defensive-pair changes during Monday’s practice — the team is a combined 62-6 in Game 7s. They’re led by Richards, who is 6-0.
The Penguins’ expected lineup is a combined 21-15 in Game 7s.