Rangers' Adam Fox finding the back of the net with regularity
The Rangers' Adam Fox celebrates as he returns to the bench after scoring the first of his two goals during the second period of an NHL game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Credit: AP/Gene J. Puskar
Adam Fox struggled to stifle a laugh Saturday night when he was asked if, after two goals in the 6-1 win over the Penguins in Pittsburgh, and three in the first three games of the season, he was “feeling it.’’
“I wouldn't say that,’’ he said after he was done chuckling. “I think sometimes it's just the law of averages. I think last year, the puck luck to start wasn't great. This year, the same shots find a way to go in.’’
He chalked up his two goals Saturday mostly to puck luck, while also crediting the net-front efforts of Sam Carrick and Matt Rempe on his first goal, and J.T. Miller on his second.
“Obviously on those goals, it was great play by that fourth line [of Carrick, Rempe and Adam Edstrom],’’ he said. “I thought they were awesome tonight, made a big difference to turn the tide for us. And then J.T., just getting effort [to screen goalie Arturs Silovs] on the power play.’’
Carrick, who had two assists in the game, threw the credit right back to Fox, who had 10 goals last season.
“There's not enough you can say about him,’’ Carrick said. “He's huge for our team here, a lot of poise out there, and, you know, he doesn't get enough credit for his shot. It might not be the hardest in the league, but it always finds a way to get through. And those are the ones that are easily tippable.’’
This season, Fox is donating $1,023 for each goal he scores and $523 for each assist to Tackle ALS, to help the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital in its mission to develop therapies to repair or reverse damage caused by ALS. Fox’s father-in-law, Tim Green, has ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and started Tackle ALS. Entering Sunday’s game against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden, Fox led the Rangers in scoring with his three goals and one assist (four points).
But it isn’t just Fox’s scoring that has impressed coach Mike Sullivan. On Saturday, Sullivan made it clear that he likes what he’s seen from the Jericho native at both ends of the ice.
“I think Foxy's having a real strong start for us,’’ Sullivan said. “What I like about his game right now is just his physicality down low. He's defending. He's defending hard. And I think his offense speaks for itself. He sees the game really well. He has the ability to slow the game down offensively. A lot of players don't do that in today's game, and he has that knack. But I've been really impressed with his commitment to play defense.’’
Fox is likely going to have to play even more defense now, with the Rangers placing defenseman Carson Soucy on injured reserve early Sunday with an upper-body injury. Soucy left the game in the second period Saturday after he got tangled up with Penguins forward Rickard Rakell and fell headfirst into the boards.
The Rangers finished that game with five defensemen, which Fox said sometimes actually works in a team’s favor.
“Sometimes it simplifies as ‘D’-man,’’ he said. “You're not going to do too much, because you don't want to get caught out there [too long on the ice]. So sometimes mentally, it helps to know you're keeping short shifts, keeping it simple, and trying to get [the puck] up to the forwards and playing in their end. The less you're defending, the easier it is.’’
Still, the injury to Soucy, who was playing on the second defense pair with Will Borgen, will put more pressure on goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who started the first three games of the season and saved 83 of 85 shots in those games, and could heap even more responsibility on the top defense pair of Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov to limit opposing teams’ scoring chances.
With Soucy out for at least seven days, Sullivan was expected to elevate Braden Schneider from the third pair to partner with Borgen, putting two righthanded shots together on the second pair. Seventh defenseman Matthew Robertson was likely to enter the lineup, and play on the third pair with Urho Vaakanainen.
Notes & quotes: After putting Soucy on IR, the Rangers called up defenseman Connor Mackey from AHL Hartford.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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