Carney on the Plus Side

Defenseman Keith Carney is on the ice a lot for the Mighty Ducks. Heading into Sunday night’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers, Carney ranked fifth on the team in playing time behind Oleg Tverdovsky, Jason York, Paul Kariya and Jeff Friesen, at 19 minutes 59 seconds per game.

That’s what makes his plus-4 rating so impressive. Carney was the only Duck to have a positive plus/minus rating heading into Sunday despite the fact that Anaheim was outscored, 37-30, over the first 13 games of the season.

“There are a lot of things that factor into it and, of course, the most important thing is the team,” said Carney, who was acquired in June from Phoenix in exchange for a second-round pick in last summer’s draft. “You look at how the team is playing. You check and see if they are winning hockey games and whether they are scoring or giving up a lot of goals.”

Carney gets plenty of minutes because Anaheim Coach Bryan Murray knows he can count on him against any top scoring line. It’s something he’s done throughout his NHL career, which explains why Carney can be proud for entering this season ranked fifth in plus/minus rating among all active defensemen with a plus-109.

“It probably weighs more on a defenseman because it’s usually a pretty good indication of not only himself but how his team is doing,” Carney said. “You also have to see who they are matching up against and whether they are playing a lot of special teams. Sometimes players are always going against a top scoring line, so a checking-line guy would not be expected to be on the ice for a lot of goals.”

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Right wing Marty McInnis was not in uniform for Sunday’s game because of a sprained right wrist. He is expected to return to the lineup Wednesday against Calgary.