Column: Carter peaking at right time for Kings

Catching Kings center Jeff Carter on or off the ice takes planning and hard work.

On skates he’s as fast as anyone, a valuable asset in a league that’s leaning toward speed over sheer brawn. Once the game is over, he tends to shower and dress and leave before most of his teammates have even taken off their jerseys. If intercepted by a reporter he seems almost reluctant to talk about himself, usually resorting to short answers while offering a gap-toothed grin.

But on Sunday, after setting up the Kings’ first goal and scoring their last two in their 3-2 victory over the Ducks at the Honda Center, Carter was happy to talk about a performance that put the Kings even in points with the Ducks and the Edmonton Oilers atop the Pacific division and extended their winning streak to a hard-earned three.

“It was a huge game,” Carter said with a weary smile. “We know what the games are like when we play these guys.”

Their games against the Ducks require intensity, physicality and resilience, qualities the Kings might have been running short of as they approached their second game in two days and eighth game in 13 days in seven cities. They’ve had to play without injured franchise goaltender Jonathan Quick since the second period of their season opener and they’ve had to play the last five games without captain and No. 1 center Anze Kopitar, who has a hand or arm injury.

Not everyone has embraced the opportunity to step up and help keep the team afloat during Kopitar’s absence but Carter has lifted his game to its highest point just when the Kings needed him the most, collecting four goals and six points in the last three games. “He’s putting pucks in the net for us and that’s kind of what one of his main jobs is, putting pucks in the net,” defenseman Drew Doughty said. “He’s done a great job since Kopi’s been out.”

Carter was a one-man wrecking crew Sunday, feeding Doughty for a shot that whistled inside the far post and past John Gibson for the Kings’ first goal, finishing off a rush with linemates Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli during a power play for the Kings’ second goal, and using his body to deflect Doughty’s point shot past Gibson for a 3-0 lead at 13:35 in the third period. “I didn’t have to do a lot there. It just hit me in the chest,” Carter said of that goal, but he was in the right place at the right time, and that mattered.

“We knew we were going to need everybody. We couldn’t be short-staffed in terms of effort or compete,” Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said. “I thought we were pretty good in that area. Obviously, Jeff had another big game for us.”

His excellence certainly has been obvious to his teammates. “Carts is buzzing out there. He’s using his speed,” defenseman Alec Martinez said. “All three of those guys generate a lot of plays off the rush. Carts is a really smart player and he’s always there for us in the middle. When we’re clean getting it to those guys, oftentimes that can lead to an opportunity at the other end.

“When they’re using their speed and making plays, they’re a tough, tough line to defend.”

The Ducks, with enviable strength up the middle in veterans Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, and Antoine Vermette, couldn’t do much to stop Carter’s line Sunday. They pushed back in the third period but the Kings — with Carter, winger-turned-center Trevor Lewis and youngsters Nic Dowd and Nick Shore as their centers — held on for a victory they considered meaningful.

“It’s nice to get another win on the road. I think it’s only our third all year. Hopefully we can build on the road,” Carter said. “You have to be consistent. You can’t go on highs and lows and expect to make the playoffs. You’ve got to put a number of games together, and hopefully we can keep this going.”

Carter’s first goal gave him 600 regular-season points, a round number he called “cool.” Sutter reminded reporters not to forget Carter’s playoff production: Carter has 74 points in 116 postseason games, including 25 points in 26 games during the Kings’ 2014 Stanley Cup fun. “He’s been a really good leader,” Sutter said.

In hockey, that’s probably the ultimate compliment. And for Carter, it’s deserved. Obviously.