“Villain of Philly” Carcillo Makes NYR Better

The Villain of Philly scores! (NBC)

His nickname is “CarBomb” for the way he explodes on the ice in a game. A reputation well earned in the NHL with over 1100 penalty minutes. However, since he became a Ranger he has been just as explosive but more calculated.

Daniel Carcillo has kept his head and the Rangers are a better team when he is in the lineup. It’s a simple fact in numbers you can’t deny. No, I am not talking about fancy stats that you can find ad nauseam all over the internet, fan blogs and now on TV. I am talking about the only numbers that count, WINS! The Blueshirts are 19-9-3 in the regular season with him in the lineup and 1-0 in the playoffs so far.

Matter of fact, the more Carcillo the better. NY is 8-1-1 in games where he has logged ten minutes plus. Don’t believe me? In games where he has played under 8 minutes the Rangers are just 6-6. Numbers don’t lie, but they don’t tell the whole story either.

When Alain Vigneault opted to reinsert Carcillo for game three, he knew what he was getting. “Dan’s an experienced player. He brings an energy to a team. He’s a hard, smart player. He goes to the tough areas. When he has an opportunity to lay a good, physical hit, he does that. With him in our lineup this year, we’ve had a very good record.”

The moment Carcillo stepped on the ice, he became the center of attention for Philadelphia’s star players. He’s like catnip to Scott Hartnell, Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux. They simplY hate him. It sends them off their games and puts Dan on his.

Sean Hartnett of WFAN wrote a great feature on Carcillo and captured this quote:

“The Flyers’ hockey mentality has always been the same,” Carcillo said. “It’s big, rough and in-your-face hockey. I think we just have to play our game — fast, smart with the puck, get traffic in front of the net, move it around in the o-zone. I think we’ll be alright as long as we don’t get caught up in what they want to try to do.”

Carcillo even admitted that he doesn’t have any friends over there. That’s fine with the Rangers. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll leave him in the lineup for as long as the playoffs last.

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUJoZ_0XrpQ”]Game Seven Highlights – [/su_youtube]

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Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at ... More about Anthony Scultore
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