N.J. is Carter country
JEFF CARTER’S mammoth contract stretches 11 years. The Kings are just glad he didn’t wait one more to join them.
The 27-year-old forward, acquired from the Blue Jackets in a deadline deal to bolster an anemic offense, scored the biggest goal of his career in overtime of Game 2 Saturday night at the Rock, slipping a low wrist shot past a Dustin Penner screen to give the Kings a 2-1 win over the Devils and a commanding 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals going back to Los Angeles.
“This is by far the biggest (goal I’ve scored), for sure,” said Carter, who played the first six seasons of his career in Philadelphia before the Flyers jettisoned him to Columbus last June. “I think it’s my first playoff overtime goal, so it’s a huge one. It’s a big win for the team. It gives us a two-game lead and gets us where we wanted to be coming in.”
Carter was shocked when Philadelphia traded him and sent teammate and friend Mike Richards to the Kings. But he and Richards were reunited when L.A. traded defenseman Jack Johnson and a conditional first-round pick to Columbus in exchange for a $58 million contract lasting until 2022.
Carter made it all worth it 13:42 into Saturday’s extra period. On the goal, he took a pass in the neutral zone from defenseman Alec Martinez, then sped down the right wing past Devils defenseman Andy Greene and fired a shot on Martin Brodeur.
Penner got the primary assist when he jammed at Carter’s rebound in front. Brodeur angled the bouncing puck back toward the boards, where Carter regained possession and circled back to the slot before zipping a low wrister past a crowd on Brodeur’s stick side.
“That’s why we picked him up,” said Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, who made 32 saves as L.A. improved its record this postseason to 14-2. “We knew what kind of player he is.”
It was Carter’s fifth goal of the playoffs, but just his first in five games. Three of the five goals came when he netted a hat trick in Game 2 of the second round against Phoenix.
“Good to see him score, right?” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. “Marty made some highlight saves tonight against good shooters. So good to see him score.”
The Kings have set an NHL record with 10 road wins to open a postseason, and on Saturday they tied a group of teams that includes the 1995 and 2000 Devils for most road wins in a single playoffs.
“It’s a big accomplishment for us,” Penner said. “Definitely you have to do it, starting as an eight-seed and starting on the road every series. We’ve been beneficiaries of timely goals and good bounces . . . I think every game on the road — maybe with the exception of a couple — we could have easily lost them.”