Of all the unusual things about a hockey game at Yankee Stadium, Daniel Carcillo scoring the game-winning tally ranks pretty high. Then again, this is the house of the Bronx Bombers... so maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that a guy with the nickname “Car Bomb” would nab the deciding goal as the Rangers beat the Isles 2-1 on Wednesday night.
After the game, Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault praised Carcillo, saying the gritty forward brings “bite” to the Dominic Moore-Brian Boyle unit.
“Well, he brings energy like we expected him to bring. He brings bite to that line,” Vigneault said. “That line with Brian and Dom can give us some good, greasy offensive shifts where they’re spending a little time in the other end.
“What they’ve done the last little while, and it’s probably why we’re winning more games right now is that you need a contribution from your whole lineup. We’re getting that line that’s scored us some big goals. Like they did tonight, that was a huge goal for us in that third period.”
It’s possible Carcillo is saving his goals for big moments. Between his time with the Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings this season, he’s scored three goals -- two of which were game-winners.
One of his two goals from 2012-13 was a game-winner, too, and six of his 42 career regular season goals have given his teams two points. (Also, one of his five playoff tallies won a game.)
With all this in mind, maybe Carcillo should adapt his nickname to “timely Car Bomb.”