Sam Carrick’s toughness improves Rangers’ fourth line in more ways than one

Canadiens enforcer Arber Xhekaj was looking for a tussle Saturday night in Montreal, but Rangers tough guy Matt Rempe did not bite.

Then Sam Carrick crunched Montreal youngster Lane Hutson into the boards behind the Habs net.

Despite it being a clean hit, Xhekaj took exception almost immediately. The two dropped the gloves and engaged in a lengthy heavyweight bout that saw each skater get in his fair share of licks.

It was toward the end of the second period, and the Rangers were trailing 2-1 at the time, but the momentum carried over for the Blueshirts in a three-goal final frame to snatch the victory.

“It starts with his hit too,” Mika Zibanejad said after the 4-3 win Saturday night in Montreal. “Fighting [Xhekaj] too. Sammy does it all for us. It was a huge energy boost for us. That was awesome to see.”

In more ways than one, the 33-year-old Carrick has been a standout through the first seven Rangers games of the 2025-26 season.

Anchoring the fourth line between the Towering Twins, Rempe and Adam Edstrom, Carrick is the reliable presence in an otherwise momentum-swinging unit that has generated substantial offensive zone time thus far.

That’s not to say Carrick stands out in the line. In fact, his feisty style of play blends right in.

Carrick is tough as nails. He’ll make you feel every single shift you play against him.

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The way he’s contributed for the Rangers on both sides of the puck, however, is a testament to Carrick’s overall impact as a fourth-line centerman.

“Sam’s a brave guy. He’s a brave guy,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “He competes hard. He’s a competitor. I think [the fight] gave the guys a huge boost. That was a gutsy effort by Sam.”

Carrick is currently tied with Zibanejad for the second-most individual high-danger chances on the team with nine, trailing only Rangers captain J.T. Miller’s 10.

His knack for getting to the dirty areas of the ice has allowed the fourth line to threaten offensively more shifts than not.

Two of his three assists through seven games have come on either a perfectly placed pass in transition or a gutsy drive to the net that put the puck in prime position to be jammed in.

In addition to posting six blocks, nine hits and only one giveaway, Carrick is averaging the second-most short-handed ice time among forwards (1:32) on a Rangers penalty kill that’s currently ranked ninth in the NHL (85.7 percent).

“I think anytime you have a veteran like that in between two young guys, it helps,” Sullivan said. “They just have a calming presence. They’re the anchor, so to speak, on the lines, and they help the young guys. I think that line has really developed a fair amount of chemistry. I think Sam has been the anchor there, and just with the decisions he makes, Sam’s a smart player. He’s good, he’s decent on both sides of the puck. With those two guys he has with him, just their size and their skating ability, their reach, they’re just hard to play against.

“They just take up space in all three zones and they’re mobile guys for their size. I think their overall game with the puck is starting to evolve.”