Jeff Carter’s career has been defined by hard work and simplicity, a combination that paid off once again in his milestone 1,000th career NHL game.
Carter scored the game-winning goal to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night, securing their third straight win.
At 12:42 of the third period, Carter tipped Matt Roy’s shot from the blue line, breaking the 3-3 tie. The play itself was straightforward: Carter celebrated the goal while lying on his back and delivering a series of fist pumps.
“Nothing special about it,” said Carter, who also celebrated his 500th game as a King. “Win a faceoff, shoot a puck, and go to the net. That’s how the games go for us. We simplify.”
Carter’s game-winner marked his 371st career goal and 713th point, and teammate Drew Doughty wasn’t surprised to see him step up in a big moment.
“I just felt like that was going to happen,” Doughty said. “Jeff’s a goal scorer and has scored big goals like that his whole career.”
Nikolai Prokhorkin scored his first NHL goal, while Doughty added a goal and an assist for the Kings. Goaltender Jonathan Quick made 28 saves.
For Vegas, Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Marchessault each had a goal and an assist, while William Karlsson scored as well. Malcolm Subban made 21 saves, but the Golden Knights dropped their fifth straight game, including four consecutive regulation losses.
Despite rallying with three goals in the second period, including Karlsson’s tying goal at 17:06, Vegas couldn’t keep pace in the final frame.
“When confidence is down, it feels like every chance against ends up in the back of your net,” Pacioretty said. “But we’ve got to fight through it.”
The Kings scored with Blake Lizotte’s short-handed goal at 10:59 of the first period, followed by Doughty’s power-play goal at 15:10 to make it 2-0.
Pacioretty got the Golden Knights on the board early in the second period when Reilly Smith’s shot deflected in off his skate. Prokhorkin then scored his first career goal, restoring a two-goal lead for Los Angeles.
Marchessault brought Vegas within one goal, firing a shot from the blue line through traffic, but Carter’s sixth goal of the season sealed the win for the Kings.
“We had a great second period, got back to even,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. “Just a bad result at the end.”
Game Notes:
- Jonathan Marchessault has two goals and two assists in his last four games.
- Kings captain Anze Kopitar extended his point streak to six games, with three goals and six assists during that stretch.
- Vegas signed forward Peyton Krebs to a three-year, entry-level contract. Krebs was the 17th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Up Next:
- Golden Knights: Host the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
- Kings: Visit the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.