Dan Carcillo is ready to return. Now it’s up to Alain Vigneault to decide if he’s needed.
The physical Rangers forward will complete his six-game suspension with Game 3 Monday night, and is hopeful to be back on the ice for Wednesday’s Game 4 at the Garden.
“Obviously I want to play, but we’ll see what happens going forward,” he said after the Rangers morning skate on Monday. “It’s not easy. Obviously, you want to be playing. But I’m not right now. I’m trying to be a good teammate, good guy in the room, and just be ready, try and stay as ready as possible.”
Carcillo was suspended after Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Canadiens. He was ejected for physical abuse of an official. He resisted being taken to the penalty box by linesman Scott Driscoll, eventually catching Driscoll with an elbow.
The 29-year-old left wing, who had scored two goals in eight playoff games with the Rangers while accumulating 22 penalty minutes, initially was suspended for 10 games, but commissioner Gary Bettman cut it to six after hearing his appeal. He declined to discuss that game, when he lost his head.
“That’s over and done with,” Carcillo said.
The Kings are one of Carcillo’s former teams. He was traded at midseason for a seventh-round pick, which would have gone back to the Rangers had Carcillo not stayed on Broadway all season. He’s one of only three Rangers with prior Stanley Cup finals experience, along with Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis, having won the Cup with the Blackhawks last year.
Carcillo said he plans to bring the “same thing” he’s brought since coming over to the Rangers in midseason: toughness, physicality and energy.
“I’m just trying to give the team a boost in whatever way they need it,” he said. “We need all four lines to help this time of year. Just being sound defensively, making them play hard minutes down low in their end.”