Carter calls it a career in season finale

Winger scores final career goal in narrow loss

ELMONT, N.Y. — Jeff Carter’s two little ones and his wife, Megan, were waiting Wednesday night when a line suddenly formed near center ice at UBS Arena.

As the Penguins played their season finale against the New York Islanders, a game in which they were competitive but lost 5-4, there were signs throughout the arena the 39-yearold was skating in the final game of his fantastic career.

Carter’s family had flown in from Pittsburgh to be there in person to watch him. They sat in a suite next to Jonathan Quick, his former Los Angeles teammate.

The Penguins made Carter a starter and Sidney Crosby briefly slid over to the wing so Carter could take the opening faceoff, a classy gesture by the captain.

During the third period, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan kept sending Carter over the boards, and his teammates forced passes to him whenever they got the puck. It paid off when Crosby set up Carter for the tying goal during the third period.

And then after the final horn sounded, the Islanders lined up in the neutral zone so they could shake hands with Carter, one of the NHL’s oldest active players.

Carter then hopped off the ice one last time and was embraced by his family.

Carter said he confided in a few teammates that he planned to call it quits after the season. But he waited to make the announcement, not wanting to distract the Penguins as they made a push for the playoffs that came up a little short.

When they were eliminated Tuesday, he informed everyone of his plans. They couldn’t send him out a winner, but he was touched by the sendoff he received.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if he eventually joins Pittsburgh’s hockey operations department. Sullivan said Carter, a cerebral player, will excel in that kind of role.

During his four seasons in Pittsburgh, Carter made a mark on teammates with his calm demeanor and also his professionalism, especially back in November when the Penguins made him a healthy scratch for the first time in his career.

The Penguins acquired Carter from the Los Angeles Kings before the NHL trade deadline in 2021. He had won two Stanley Cup titles during his decade in L.A.

Carter was outstanding down the stretch of that season, nearing cult-hero status with nine goals in their final 14 games and another four in their firstround playoff series loss to the Islanders, in which he was one of the Penguins’ top scorers.

Ron Hextall, Pittsburgh’s general manager at the time, protected Carter in the Seattle expansion draft and signed him to a two-year extension that ran through this season. Both those moves were met with far more criticism in hindsight.

In 2021, Carter scored his 400th goal in the NHL while wearing black and gold.

He had 32 goals and 74 points over between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons but was overextended last season as the third-line center. The Penguins shifted him to the wing in the final year of his contract and he was just fine in that role.

Carter finished this season with 11 goals, four assists and a minus-7 rating. He has hit the 10-goal mark every single season in his 19-year career, which began in 2005-06 with the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted him 11th overall in 2003.

Carter and the Penguins came to play Wednesday despite already being out.

Brock Nelson got his requisite goal against the Penguins out of the way early. But the visitors tied the score late in the first with a goal from Rickard Rakell.

The teams traded tallies in the second and went into the third period tied, 3-3. Evgeni Malkin and Valtteri Puustinen scored for Pittsburgh. Malkin’s goal came on the power play. Casey Cizikas and Kyle Palmieri lit the lamp for New York.

Samuel Bolduc scored early in the third period to put the Islanders back in front.

Carter tied it up when Crosby’s backdoor pass hit Carter’s skate and skittered in behind Ilya Sorokin. On the visiting bench, happy teammates let out a roar.

Simon Holmstrom scored with 5:33 left to win it for New York. Sorokin stopped Crosby on a penalty shot with 30 seconds left to lock in an Islanders victory.

Ice chips

• Pittsburgh’s scratches were Emil Bemstrom, Radim Zohorna and John Ludvig. Bemstrom being out ensured he wouldn’t reach six goals in a Penguins uniform this season, which would have changed the conditional 2026 draft pick that they owe to the Columbus Blue Jackets from a sixthrounder into a thirdrounder.

• Alex Nedeljkovic started the final 13 games, calling into question Tristan Jarry’s future with the team. Jarry worked the door Wednesday at UBS Arena.

• Jansen Harkins finished the season with zero goals in his 45 games played.

• Rust is Pittsburgh’s nominee for the King Clancy Award, which goes to the player who “best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” He was a fine pick.

• Goalie prospect Joel Blomqvist was named to the American Hockey League’s All-Rookie team.

Stat n’at

100 – points for Carter in 241 regular- season games with the Penguins. He totaled 52 goals in those games and netted another eight in 13 postseason games.

They said it

“There’s a lot of pride in this room so there’s always something to play for,” Rust said about their effort in the finale. “But I think [Carter] was a big factor in that.”

Coming up

The Penguins will have exit meetings and clean out their locker stalls Thursday.