Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports
A thrilling overtime win over the Dallas Stars on Sunday gave the Los Angeles Kings a little breathing room in the Western Conference standings for the time being. The Kings gained sole possession of fourth place with the win, which came courtesy of a goal from Jeff Carter. The veteran winger’s game-winner was his league-leading eighth of the season, as he continues to not just score a lot of goals for the Kings but keeps scoring them at the perfect times.
Carter is now fourth in the league with 25 goals, including two in the last five games. Perhaps he heard some of the recent criticism that he was scoring plenty but lacking in assists because he had a pair of helpers in the win over the Stars as well. He has now surpassed the 21 goals he scored last season between his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Kings, and in only half the time. His assist on Dustin Brown’s second-period goal gave Carter 10 power play points for the season (eight goals, two assists) and he assisted on a Mike Richards goal in the first period as well.
When the Kings reached the playoffs last season, Carter proved to be one of their best players. He had eight goals in 20 postseason games, while adding five assists. As the Kings work their way back to the playoffs, they’ll be in great shape if Carter can keep scoring. They face three tough remaining games against playoff-contending teams, including a showdown with the San Jose Sharks team that currently sits behind them in the standings, on Saturday.
Jonathan Katje is an NHL senior writer for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your circles on Google Plus.
