Jeff Carter stands on the verge of a very impressive championship season. Actually, so, too, does his teammate Drew Doughty.
Carter and Doughty have already won Olympic gold with Team Canada in Sochi. They’re both one victory away from a Stanley Cup with the L.A. Kings. They can achieve this feat Wednesday in Game 4 of the final series against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
But Carter, well, he says he’s not even thinking about that. The message from the Kings on Tuesday was that fourth win is the hardest to get.
“It’s not something I thought about, to be honest. We still got a long ways to go here,” Carter told reporters.
“We’re not looking ahead, we’re looking to tomorrow night. We know we’re going to have to be on top of our game, have to be ready.”
Carter has been a force in these playoffs, right now sitting second in NHL post-season overall scoring with 10 goals and 24 points. Doughty, the smooth-skating defenseman, has also been impressive, contributing offensively with 17 points. Wouldn’t you know it, they’re both in the conversation for the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Carter might not be looking too far ahead, focusing on the game and the work left to be done. Doughty can’t wait for the moment to arrive.
“I can’t wait to get out there,” said Doughty. “It kind of sucks that the game is at 8:00, waiting around during the day. You just want to get out there. You don’t want to get overanxious at the same time.
“But it’s fun to play in these types of games. When the pressure’s at a high, you just want to go out there, play your best as a team, win games. Yeah, I just can’t wait to get out there, get warmups over there, drop the first puck.”