June 4, 2012, New Jersey Devils-Los Angeles Kings Game 3 Stanley Cup Final advance notebook for HockeyPrimeTime.com

Carter's Game 2 goal the biggest of many

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Written by Denis Gorman

Monday, June 04, 2012 01:33

Jeff Carter has scored goals at every level he's played at. In Game 2, he scored what even he is calling the biggest goal of his still young career. The Los Angeles Kings are not celebrating their 2-0 Stanley Cup Final series lead over the New Jersey Devils. That has to do with the Kings’ belief that the Devils have played well throughout the playoffs, which New Jersey had done during its run through the Eastern Conference. “I think their forecheck is great right now,” Kings defenseman Matt Greene said after the Kings’ practice Sunday. “It's getting a lot of things done for them that they want to get done. We want more pressure in the offensive zone.” *****   It is not exactly a state secret that Jeff Carter has been a pre-eminent sniper at every level. He totaled 123 and 246 points in 236 games spanning four Ontario Hockey League seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Carter has scored 202 goals and 377 points in 516 NHL games over seven seasons with the Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers. Yet by his words, not one of his goals was bigger than his first NHL Stanley Cup Playoff overtime game-winner, which occurred Saturday night. Carter’s wrister 13:42 into the extra session gave the Kings a 2-1 win and a 2-0 series lead over the Devils. “(It’s) obviously exciting, a big moment in my career [and a] huge goal for the team,” Carter said. “I got a lot of texts, a lot of phone calls and whatnot. [But] we're back at it tomorrow night, so we have to move on and get ready.” While Carter is attempting to win the first Cup in his career, he has been part of championship-winning teams. Carter was a member of Canada’s Under-18 World Championship and Under-20 World Junior Hockey Championship gold medal-winning teams in 2003 and 2005, along with the silver medal World Junior team in 2004. He also played on the Philadelphia Phantoms – the Philadelphia Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate – Calder Cup-winning team in 2005. “You never want to be on the losing end,” Carter said. “It's a tough situation. Things have been going well for us here throughout the playoffs with overtime, coming up with some big goals,” Carter said. “I don't think any of those [other really match up to what we're going for here. This is right at the top of the list. Obviously they're huge accomplishments – the World Juniors, Calder Cup – but this is the one I really want.” ***** While the Devils felt they played better in Game 2 than they did in Game 1, the one area which angered them was the power play. The Devils generated just three shots in four power plays spanning 6:51 Saturday night, which led coach Pete DeBoer to harshly criticize the man advantage corps the following Game 2. “A little harsh,” DeBoer said of his postgame critique of the Devils’ man-up units’ play in Game 2 during his media availability Sunday. “Hopefully a little is lost in translation. I think you're emotional after a loss. I think when you reflect for a day, when you look at the tape, we did a lot of good things. “Obviously there [are] some areas we have to do a better job at but I really liked our game. [From] Game 1 to Game 2, I thought we were 50 percent better. I still think we have some more in the tank.” You can follow us on Twitter @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman. Photos by Getty Images

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