(Sports Network) - Jeff Carter has given the Staples Center plenty to cheer
about during the Los Angeles Kings' current homestand.
The streaking forward will look to extend his goal-scoring run to five
straight games on Monday night when the Kings end their residency with a
second straight meeting with the Calgary Flames.
Carter has scored in each game of this homestand, which he began with his
fifth career hat trick in last Monday's win over Nashville. He has scored once
in each of the last three games, giving him 13 goals over his past 13 games
and a Western Conference-leading 17 on the season. That is two back of Tampa
Bay's Steven Stamkos for the NHL lead.
The winger netted a power-play tally in Saturday's 6-2 win over Calgary,
helping the Kings improve to 3-1 on their homestand and 10-3-0 in their last
13. Carter has been a big part of that run and is bringing some excitement to
Los Angeles' offense.
"Every time he has a puck, it doesn't matter where he shoots it from, it could
be from the neutral zone, I feel like the fans expect it to go in," said Kings
goaltender Jonathan Quick. "So he's playing great hockey for us. You know he's
scoring big goals and he's one of the leaders on the team and we need him to
do that and he's one of the biggest reasons why we are in the standings where
we are right now."
Quick made 17 saves in the win over the Flames, while Justin Williams had a
goal and two assists. Anze Kopitar and Colin Fraser both finished with a goal
and an assist, while Slava Voynov notched a career-high three assists for the
second time in four games. Dustin Penner added an assist in a fifth game in a
row.
Los Angeles' current run has helped it jump into a tie for second in the
Pacific Division with 28 points, 11 back of first-place Anaheim.
The Flames, meanwhile, sit last in the West with 22 points, leaving them six
back of a playoff spot. They have lost four of their past six, including the
first two of a three-game road trip.
Mike Cammalleri and Alex Tanguay scored for the Flames, who have lost five in
a row on the road and sit at just 3-5-2 as the visiting team this season. Matt
Stajan had an assist on Tanguay's goal to reach 300 career points.
"We don't back down. We didn't feel like we got pushed around. We competed,
but we were outplayed tonight. It was in the second period they took the game
over," Calgary's Jarome Iginla said.
Making his third straight start since missing 13 games in a row with a knee
injury, Miikka Kiprusoff was pulled in the third period after allowing six
goals on 22 shots. Joey McDonald stopped the two shots he faced in relief.
While the Kings' offense feels confident every time Carter touches the puck,
Tanguay continues to be opportunistic. The 33-year-old has seven goals this
season on just 28 shots.
The Flames have lost three straight to the Kings, including the first two of
three meetings this season. Los Angeles has swept its season series with
Calgary only once before, taking all four meetings in 1999-00.
The Kings are 7-1-1 in the previous nine encounters overall.
The Sports Network