Sam Carrick has been big factor in Rangers’ turnaround push: ‘heart-and-soul guy’
NY Post
SALT LAKE CITY — Sam Carrick has stepped into the spotlight amid the Rangers’ push to turn their season around.
Coming off his first two-point game as a Ranger, after scoring the team’s first goal and notching an assist on Adam Edstrom’s go-ahead score in the second of the Rangers’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday, Carrick made it three goals — and four points — in the past six games.
If you ask his Rangers teammates, however, they’ll tell you his impact has been felt since Day 1.
“He’s a heart-and-soul guy for us,” Braden Schneider said Tuesday night. “He kills penalties hard. He plays and works in the defensive zone hard. He has the skill to make things happen offensively. I thought that shorthanded goal he got [Tuesday night] was a perfect example of working for your chances and it was a sweet goal and a sweet move to cap it off. I think he’s been playing amazing and it’s great to see because he brings it every night.
“He might not always be on the scoreboard like he was [Tuesday night], but he’s always there and being a positive difference for us.”
The Rangers signed Carrick to a three-year, $3 million deal in the offseason to fill the void left by Barclay Goodrow, who was waived in a cap-clearing move in June.
We might as well start talking about this now. As early as next Tuesday, it’s at least possible that Carlos Beltran will earn the 75 percent of the vote necessary to gain entrance to the Hall of Fame. And when that happens — if not now, then some year soon — it’s going to be a most interesting thing to watch how Mets fans react.