Derek Stepan’s line with Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis must pick it up offensively.

Prior to last night, Derek Stepan felt his line with Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis were on the right track. The Rangers top unit looked better at the conclusion of the first round series victory over the Flyers. They followed that up with a solid effort in a 3-2 overtime Game 1 win against the Penguins. The trio combined for 11 shots-on-goal with another four attempts from Stepan, who recorded a game best five shots. He and Nash combined for nine total and had quality chances.

That wasn’t the case in Game 2. A game controlled by a hungrier Pens who posted a 3-0 home win to even the Eastern Conference Semifinal- sending it back to MSG for a pivotal Game 3 tonight. The top line was held to a paltry five shots. They weren’t a factor. On a night Derick Brassard, Benoit Pouliot and Mats Zuccarello were held in check, the Rangers didn’t get anything out of its top scoring unit.

The lack of production from Stepan, Nash and St. Louis is a concern. After a good start to the playoffs, they haven’t produced a goal over the last six games. You have to go all the way back to Game 3 of the first round when both Stepan and St. Louis scored highlighting a three-goal win over Philadelphia. This isn’t to say they weren’t effective. St. Louis and Stepan set up Marc Staal in Game 5. Nash had a strong Game 7 creating dangerous chances while owning the puck and taking the body.

The bottom line is Alain Vigneault needs more production from them. They can’t keep putting up zeroes on the score sheet. Nash’s struggles are well documented. He’s 0-for-9 so far and has only scored once in his first 21 postseason games as a Ranger. While Sidney Crosby has gotten all the attention due to his own playoff goal drought, Nash is without one in the last 12. His only tally coming on May 13, 2013 in a 5-2 Game 2 defeat to the Bruins during last year’s Conference Semis.

It’s no longer acceptable for the player Glen Sather acquired from the Blue Jackets to be such a non-entity. Sure. Nash recorded four assists in the first round and leads all players this postseason with 37 shots. He’s too young to be going through what Jaromir Jagr did for Boston last year. The difference being the Bruins were much deeper and not as dependent on one player. If it’s true the Rangers boast better depth this time, they still need Nash to perform. The same goes for Stepan, who mystifies with his inability to bury chances. He’s had a ton but rarely gets the shots on net or shanks them.

With six points (2-4-6), St. Louis is still tied with Pouliot for second in team scoring trailing Brad Richards (3-4-7). Most of his success came early. He only registered one shot Sunday and wasn’t visible. When Sather went out and traded Ryan Callahan for him, it was because of St. Louis’ experience and higher skill level. The former Lightning forward teamed with Richards to win a Stanley Cup in 2004. Amazingly, that’s a decade ago. Here they are reunited on Broadway as two key performers. Following last year’s disappointment, Richards has been his team’s most consistent forward. He’s the one taking shots and leading offensively.

Maybe it’s time for Vigneault to make a change. Switching St. Louis with Richards wouldn’t be the worst idea. Either way, the Rangers won’t go anywhere unless their top line turns it around.