Rangers' Carson Soucy returns to lineup after coming off IR

GREENBURGH — Seeing Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy crashing face-first into the boards on Oct. 11 in Pittsburgh was scary. Fortunately for Soucy and the Rangers, he wasn’t seriously injured on the play.

“It looked worse than it was,’’ Soucy said after the morning skate before Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Wild at Madison Square Garden. “It also didn’t feel great at the time, [but it was] a little more just shock when it happened. And then obviously a little stiff the next couple days. But I’ve been feeling good.”

Soucy was asked if he’d ever had a similar experience.

“Face-first into the boards?’’ he asked with a chuckle. “I have not. And hopefully that’s the last time.’’

Soucy went on injured reserve and missed four games but went on the road trip to Toronto and Montreal and skated with the team there. He came off injured reserve Monday and was back in the lineup against the Wild.

Soucy originally was selected by Minnesota in the fifth round of the 2013 draft and played his first three pro seasons in the Wild organization.

Coach Mike Sullivan initially said Soucy would be a game-time decision, but there never seemed to be a doubt that the 6-4, 211-pounder would play, not after he took a full turn in the morning skate, partnered with Braden Schneider.

“Souce brings an element of physicality to our blue line,’’ Sullivan said when asked what he’d seen of him before he got hurt. “He’s long, he’s rangy, he defends well with his stick and I think he has decent puck skills. He can make outlet passes. He joins the rush.

“He sees it pretty well on the offensive blue line as far as finding the back-side flank or resetting a puck or just delivering a puck to the net, getting it through the first set of shin pads, which I think is a real important element of being a defenseman in today’s game.’’

Soucy, who had a goal and was plus-2 in the three games he played, said he’d been feeling pretty comfortable before he got hurt.

“I think it’s been coming along,’’ he said. “And I think over these last couple games, especially as a team, they’ve been playing good. So I just want to, whenever I get back in the lineup, kind of help keep this moving forward and try to make an impact.’’

His return Monday meant a defenseman had to come out of the lineup, and after scoring his first NHL goal in Saturday’s 4-3 win over Montreal, rookie Matthew Robertson wasn’t the one. Instead, Urho Vaakanainen, who played in each of the first seven games, ended up being the odd man out.

Vaakanainen had averaged 15:02 of ice time, the lowest of any defenseman, and his ice time actually went down in the four games Soucy missed.

“Those decisions are always difficult,’’ Sullivan said. “You know, we have so much respect for every player on the team and what they bring to help us become a team. So we don’t take those decisions lightly. Ultimately, it’s my responsibility to try to make the best decision for the team from a roster standpoint and a line standpoint.’’

Before he got hurt, Soucy had been paired with Will Borgen, with whom he’d partnered when they played together in Seattle, but against the Wild, he was partnered with Schneider. Robertson, who partnered with Borgen during Soucy’s absence, stayed with him.

Soucy said it would be the first time he and Schneider played together as partners. He didn’t think that would be a problem.

“I think [all the defensemen] in this group right now should all have pretty similar tendencies,’’ he said. “They’ve been working well as a unit. So I just want to come in tonight [and] do my part.’’

Notes & quotes: With Soucy coming off IR, rookie defenseman Scott Morrow was returned to AHL Hartford . . . Vaakanainen and forward Jonny Brodzinski were the healthy scratches . . . Igor Shesterkin got the start in goal . . . Sullivan said Vincent Trocheck, who is on LTIR with an upper-body injury, is making progress but he has not skated. Trocheck last played Oct. 9 in Buffalo before leaving that game in the second period . . . Monday was the first Theme Night for the Rangers in their centennial season. They celebrated “The Birth of the Franchise,” honoring the era from the team’s beginning in 1926 to 1942.

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.