SALT LAKE CITY — Sam Carrick has stepped into the spotlight as the Rangers look to turn their season around.
Carrick scored the team's first goal in the second overtime of the Rangers' 3-2 loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday, assisting on Adam Edstrom's go-ahead goal before finishing his first two-point game as a Ranger. achieved it. He has three goals and four points in his last six games.
But ask any of his Rangers teammates and they'll tell you his influence was felt from day one.
“He's a great guy for us,” Braden Schneider said Tuesday night. “He absolutely kills penalties. He plays hard and works in the defensive zone. He has the skills to make things happen offensively. I thought it was a goal he scored shorthanded. [Tuesday night] It was a perfect example of taking chances, a great goal and a great move to finish it off. I think he's playing great and he brings it every night so it's great to watch.
“He might not be on the scoreboard the way he usually is.” [Tuesday night]But he is always there and makes a positive difference for us. ”
The Rangers signed Carrick to a three-year, $3 million contract in the offseason, filling the void left by Barclay Goodrow, who was waived to clear the cap in June.
For more than $2.6 million less per year, Carrick was tasked with not only being the Rangers' acting captain, but also filling in as a utility forward whose versatility is one of his greatest assets.
Carrick got his first taste of the NHL playoffs in his ninth year as a pro, playing in the Stanley Cup with the Oilers, who acquired the 32-year-old from the Ducks along with Adam Henrique.
Perhaps the possibility of another postseason run was a factor in his coming to New York.
Carrick soldiered on for the Rangers game after game, injecting some much-needed physicality, grunt and forechecking into the bottom six and solidifying the penalty kill.
His shorthanded average time on ice of 1:17 ranks fifth among Rangers forwards. He's only been on the ice for just two power-play goals so far.
In addition to boasting a 66.67 faceoff win percentage on the power play, Carrick's 57.4 overall mark from the dot ranks second on the team behind Vincent Trocheck (60.6).
“He's a guy who works hard at his game,” head coach Peter Laviolette said Wednesday afternoon after an optional practice at the Olympic Oval. “He's going to hit, he's going to compete, he's going to fight for his teammates, he's going to block shots. To see him score goals that way. [Tuesday night]everyone was excited for him, especially with those types of goals. He's playing really well right now and it's really great. ”
On Tuesday night, Carrick scored his fourth goal shorthanded, marking the fifth multi-point game of his career. Carrick has 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) in 43 games this season.
Points are a bonus, but when a player like Carrick succeeds, it boosts morale in the room.
Everyone wants to celebrate when one of the hardest working players on the team finally gets their reward.
“I think he's doing his job well,” Jimmy Vesey said. “It's not necessarily an easy job to be a fourth-line center, but he's a good draw, he's physical, he's responsible. He's underrated. He has a lot of poise with the puck. I think that's true, and it's starting to show itself little by little recently.
“He's a tough kid. He's not shy about taking hits and being in the scrum. He's definitely an asset to our team.”
