Rangers' Ryan Carpenter expected to return to lineup Thursday

GREENBURGH, N.Y. – Ryan Carpenter had some medical tape on his left ear, but other than that, there was no real indication of the scare the Rangers center had on Friday when he suffered a deep cut on the ear and behind it after he got hit by the skate of Winnipeg defenseman Dylan DeMelo.

“I don't know how it got in there -- it seems like my helmet protects there,’’ Carpenter said after the Rangers practiced Wednesday in advance of Thursday’s meeting with David Quinn’s San Jose Sharks. “It was a pretty big cut. I went to the bench and there was a decent amount of blood, so I came off. But luckily, they were able to get me where they kind of slowed the blood (flow) down, and, and I ended up getting stitched up.

“I think just pretty thankful it kind of was where it was,’’ he continued. “Your neck's pretty exposed there.’’

Carpenter said he’s never experienced anything like that before.

“It just happened so fast,’’ he said. “But having a guy like ‘Rammer’ (Rangers athletic trainer Jim Ramsay) and the docs there that were in Winnipeg, they kind of got me to a point where I was relaxed and comfortable and really calmed me down right away. So yeah, it was (for) a few seconds, pretty scary. And then once they kind of got me stable, it was fine.’’

Carpenter needed 11 stitches to close the cut behind his ear, then had another four stitches on the ear itself. He missed practice Sunday and didn’t play Monday in the Rangers’ 6-4 win over Anaheim. But he did skate on his own Monday and practiced with the team Tuesday and Wednesday. He declared himself good to go for Thursday.

Carpenter, 31, is in his first season with the Rangers, having signed a one-year deal to come in as a fourth-line center and penalty killer. Aside from the cut, he said he thinks things have gone mostly well. The fourth line got a goal in the season-opening 3-1 win over Tampa Bay last week – Barclay Goodrow scored on assists from Ryan Lindgren and Carpenter – and he’s partnered with Goodrow as the team’s top penalty-killing forward duo.

With Goodrow moved up to the third line after the season opener, Carpenter is expected to play Thursday between Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Reaves on the fourth line.

“I think we want to keep the puck out of our net a little bit more, but I think as a line, we have a lot of scoring and a lot of skill,’’ he said. “Anytime you're playing a ‘depth’ role, a fourth line role, you want to be hard to play against every night. Even if you're not scoring, you want to find ways to help the team, whether it's drawing penalties or … even creating a momentum for the team, and getting O-zone shifts. And sometimes … a really good shift, even if you don't score, can kind of set up the next line to have success. And so that's what we focus on.’’

Notes & quotes: The Rangers placed forward Dryden Hunt on waivers. If he isn’t claimed, the team will likely send him down to AHL Hartford on Thursday, reducing the roster to 22 players.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

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.