Carter lighting it up for Kings

Even after his hat trick in Game 2, which helped even the Western Conference finals at 1-1, Kings coach Darryl Sutter said veteran center Jeff Carter simply wasn't getting the love he deserved.

"I think Jeff Carter gets overlooked," Sutter said this week. "He was the leading goal scorer in our conference last year.

"I know a lot of the talk in this series has been about a player on our team (Anze Kopitar) and a player on their team (Jonathan Toews)."

But after scoring 4 goals in his last two games, including the game-tying goal Saturday night to go along with 2 assists, it's safe to say Carter won't be flying under the radar anymore.

Skating with a couple of kids in Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson, Carter has compiled some amazing numbers of late, including 10 points in his last four games and 7 over his last two.

"They've been our hottest line probably dating back to the end of Anaheim series," Dustin Brown said. "It's great to see. Obviously that's what we need.

"It's not a shock to see Carts score goals like he does, but those other two guys have come up and really stepped up their game and are playing at an elite level."

Carter's goal Saturday gave him 8 for the postseason.

"I think it's exciting as a player who's been here for a long time to see guy come up and have really good success on the offensive side of the puck," Brown said.

"Everyone talks about how we're not an offensive team and that's probably our M.O., but to see some of the plays that they're making it's exciting to be a teammate. I'm sure it's exciting to be a fan."