LOS ANGELES — The Rangers might be without Sam Carrick for the first time this year on Tuesday against the Kings.
Carrick, who has established himself as a valued bottom-sixer who has generally centered an effective fourth line, did not accompany the Blueshirts on Sunday “for personal reasons,” per the club, when they embarked on this three-game swing through California.
We’re told that “everything is good,” but it is unknown whether the 33-year-old whose value has exceeded the 18 points (6-12) will make it for the match.
Brett Berard, a healthy scratch for Saturday’s match against the Canucks, skated on the left side of the fourth line with Matt Rempe on the right and Juuso Parssinen having shifted from the wing into the middle.
The Blueshirts recalled Nicolas Aube-Kubel from Hartford to provide roster insurance.
The 28-year-old Aube-Kubel, acquired at the deadline from Buffalo for defenseman Erik Brannstrom, played for head coach Peter Laviolette in Washington two years ago.
He counts as the third of four recalls the Blueshirts are permitted until the Wolf Pack’s season is over.
The sixth spot on defense seems unsettled, with Urho Vaakanainen apparently slated for his third consecutive healthy scratch after being a lineup staple following his acquisition from Anaheim on Dec. 6 in the Jacob Trouba deal.
Carson Soucy, acquired at the deadline for a third-rounder, appears poised to skate on a pair with Adam Fox for the third straight game after being a healthy scratch those previous three matches.
And Calvin de Haan, who came to New York as part of the March 1 deal with Colorado involving Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey, is slated to be scratched for the ninth straight contest.
De Haan has played three games for the Blueshirts and has been on for four goals scored and none against.
“It’s unfortunate, Vaaks has played really well for us and I like him, and did Calvin de Haan when he came in for us, but we’ve got eight defensemen here,” Laviolette said. “This goes back to what I said before, you’re making decisions, Vaaks was in, Soucy and de Haan were out, we went with that for a couple of games and now we’ve made a switch.
“We thought that Soucy was coming in and figuring out the system. I actually thought his game was pretty good. There are always things we go back and teach, but I’d be fine with any of the defensemen we have here.
“But there are decisions,” the coach said. “We had Soucy there in practice so we’ll see.”
The Rangers are 4-1-1 in their past six on the road and 1-4-1 in their past six at the Garden.
Overall, the Blueshirts are 17-17-3 on Broadway and 17-14-3 away from 33rd Street.
The Rangers last won fewer than half of their home games during a full season in 2018-19 while going 18-14-9.
They haven’t had a losing season at the Garden since their 13-21-3-4 misadventure in 2003-04 that denotes 13 victories, 21 regulation defeats, three ties and four OT losses.
