Needless to say, Gardiner took the necessary ribbing for taking a rookie's first goal. Luckily — to channel Rasheed Wallace — puck don't lie. A beautiful play by Morgan Rielly set Carrick up for a tap-in of his own to open his NHL goal-scoring account in his 14th game.
While that night marked a personal milestone for Carrick, it also represented further progress in his play. He set career highs in minutes (11:30), shifts (15) and the Leafs outchanced the Panthers with him on the ice. His performance as a whole was another step towards establishing himself as a full-time NHLer.