EDMONTON, Alberta — Call this, Martin St. Louis Agonistes.
The reigning Art Ross Trophy holder sat in his stall following the Rangers’ practice on Saturday in Calgary, and delivered a stream of consciousness in addressing yet again the difficulties he has encountered since joining the Rangers at the trade deadline 13 games ago … 13 scoreless games ago.
As has been the case since his arrival, St. Louis was earnest in searching for the words to describe the transition from Tampa Bay to New York. He was earnest and unbowed. If nobody told him it was going to be easy, surely no one suggested it was going to be this hard for the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer to find his game wearing the Blueshirt.
“I haven’t gone through this in a long time, so it’s a little bit of unchartered territory, meaning that I haven’t experienced that type of adversity in a long time,” said St. Louis, who will rejoin Brad Richards and Carl Hagelin for Sunday night’s match against the Oilers. “It reminds me a lot of [2005-06] after the lockout, when we won the Stanley Cup [in 2004] and I had won a lot of individual awards.
“That next year, I felt like everybody was watching you. It was a tough year. But I came out of that one and I know I’m going to come out of this,” he said. “I’m getting tested mentally, no doubt. I have to keep fighting. I’m going to come through this as a better player.”
St. Louis won his first Art Ross in 2003-04 with a 94-point season in which he scored 36 goals. In 2005-06, he dropped to 61 points (31 goals, 30 assists), but did finish with a rush, scoring 11 goals in his final 15 games. So as he attempts to accommodate himself to new surroundings, new teammates and a new beginning, St. Louis reaches back into his past.
And the Blueshirts will reach back to the winger’s past with Richards in order to attempt to ease the transition. St. Louis played his first four games as a Ranger with his friend Richards and Hagelin before bouncing to lines centered by Derick Brassard and Derek Stepan.
Every one of the winger’s linemates has been fixated on helping him. It hasn’t helped anyone, even if the Rangers are 8-4-1 with him in the lineup. So Alain Vigneault is going back to the future, going back to the firm of Richards and St. Louis.
“I didn’t talk about it with AV, but in my opinion I think I’m in the best position to try and help Marty get going,” said running buddy and co-Cup winner Richards. “I can handle it.
“I know him better than anyone. I’m confident it will work. I’ve got my game back in order with Hags,” said No. 19, the best Ranger in Friday’s 4-3 defeat to the Flames. “Thinking about it, that first game he had a couple of good looks and if he had scored we’d be in a different situation. Everyone has been trying too hard to make it work.”
St. Louis has tried to accommodate his game to complement his various linemates. The last thing he wants to be is a disruptive influence. But in doing so, he’s not playing instinctive hockey. He never seems to have the puck in open ice. There comes a time where you just have to be yourself and let it fly.
“It’s easier said than done, and there’s a fine line. But I have to find that line and once I do, I have to play my game and go with it,” said St. Louis. “I don’t like this situation at all, maybe I’m overthinking it. I’m consumed by it. I’m a hungry guy.”
There is, according to St. Louis, at least one silver lining associated with the move to New York.
“The good thing is that everybody, my family, and my kids are adjusting really well,” he said. “It’s better to have the struggles on myself than my loved ones.”
Cam Talbot will get the start in goal against the Oilers. … Dan Carcillo likely will return to the lineup and play left wing on the line with Stepan and Nash while J.T. Miller, who did not get a third-period shift against the Flames, is scratched. … Vigneault said John Moore passed his post-concussion test and could return to the lineup on Tuesday in Vancouver.