Up until December 4th, the word "disappointing" would have been too kind of a term when talking about Nigel Dawes' season.
After being beaten out for the final roster spot to Brandon Dubinsky last season, Dawes absolutely dominated the AHL, scoring 14 goals and 20 assists in just 20 games, and earned himself a roster spot on the big club for the rest of the season. Dawes responded positively, skating in the final 61 regular season games for the Rangers while adding 14 goals, 15 assists, and a plus/minus of +11. Because of this, many Ranger fans felt certain that Nigel Dawes was ready to take the next step and become a producing top-6 winger.
However, through the first 19 games of the season, Dawes had tallied just 2 goals, 3 helpers and had seen himself slowly slip into the press box as a healthy scratch. After not dressing since November 22th, Tom Renney re-inserted Dawes into the lineup against the Montreal Canadiens on December 4th. The result for the Ranger as a team was a disaster, a 6-2 loss. However, it was the start of Dawes' resurgence as a contributor for the Rangers. Dawes scored one of the two goals for the Rangers that game, earning him a few more starts.
Dawes has taken full advantage of his most recent opportunity, and has since scored 5 goals and 11 total points in in the 16 games since that point, including the game winning goal in his most recent game against the Islanders (1/13). Having been put on a line with Petr Prucha and Chris Drury, Nigel Dawes may have finally found his niche with this 2008/09 New York Rangers team.
