Calm, Composed Carter Leads Pens to Victory in Emotional Game 3

On the morning of Game 3, Mike Sullivan spoke about the calm presence that veteran forward Jeff Carter brings in emotional environments.
"I think just his experience and his ability to make plays under pressure - there's no panic in his game in any aspect, regardless of what the score is," Sullivan said. "Just his demeanor, he's a guy that's such an accomplished player. Our players have the utmost respect for what he's been able to accomplish in the game to this point. He's a two-time Stanley Cup champion. He's been there."
And the Penguins benefited greatly from Carter's unflappable composure in their 5-4 victory on Thursday at Nassau Coliseum, in a game that turned out to be an absolute rollercoaster.

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On two occasions, the Penguins were scrambling as the Islanders had all the momentum after evening the score. First at 1-1, and later at 3-3. And on both occasions, Carter came riding in on his white horse to regain the lead with a pair of huge response goals.
Or, if you ask Brandon Tanev, Carter was the beast itself.
"Carts was a horse for us," Tanev said. "He played a hell of a game. He was a great leader for us on the ice."
Carter has been an absolutely invaluable addition to the Penguins since they acquired him from Los Angeles - where he won those two championships in 2012 and '14 - at the trade deadline.
After scoring nine goals in 14 regular-season games, Carter has continued his production into the playoffs. Before scoring twice tonight, he netted the winner in Pittsburgh's 2-1 victory in Game 2. That's 12 goals in 17 games in black and gold.
Penguins general manager Ron Hextall, who was the Flyers director of player personnel when Philadelphia drafted Carter in the first round back in 2003, was adamant that he would assimilate into the special chemistry of the group and
provide a big boost
. But I don't think anyone could have foreseen Carter having this much of an impact.
"I think we all knew he was a tremendous player," Tanev said. "I mean, he fit right into our group. He's a great leader. He's a proven winner. He's played a long time in this league. And that's the type of leader we added. We added a great person and even better hockey player that's blended right into this group and fit really well - extremely well - with this group."
Though Carter said that to be honest, he actually didn't know where he was going to fit at first, especially when it came to whether he was going to play wing or center.
But the Penguins coaching staff felt strongly that Carter should be in the middle, with his size, strength and ability to contribute at both ends of the ice. And the 36-year-old has absolutely thrived there, playing in so many key situations for the Penguins.
"I think as I've settled in and played with some different lines and whatnot, I've really enjoyed my role," Carter said. "For the most part I've been with Canner (Jared McCann) and Freddy (Gaudreau). I think we work well together, and we can bring some complimentary scoring to those top two lines."

With Evgeni Malkin making his playoff debut tonight, Gaudreau moved from centering the third line to playing right wing with Carter and McCann, and the trio picked up where they left off in terms of chemistry.
Gaudreau did a great job of setting Carter up for his first goal, which came just 2:31 after the Islanders had evened the score. Gaudreau broke the puck out of his own end before taking a hit to make a play and putting the puck in a spot where Carter could pick it up in stride. He skated in and sniped a no-look shot far side past Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov.
"You can't teach that," defenseman Kris Letang said. "That's pure goal-scoring ability. It's been really good for us since he got with our team. It's a tough shot. I don't know if he expected it, but I know he's one of the guys that can make it happen. It was just an unbelievable shot."
The Penguins then entered the third period with a 3-1 lead. After the Islanders scored to cut the deficit to one, a huge scrum erupted at the Penguins net that led to all 10 skaters on the ice heading to their respective penalty boxes. Jake Guentzel was assessed an extra slashing call, which sent the Islanders to the power play. They needed all of nine seconds to convert.
When the Penguins had a power play of their own shortly after, Carter moved onto the first unit since Letang, Guentzel and Bryan Rust were all still in the box. He took a pass from Malkin at the bottom of the circle, went backhand to forehand and beat Varlamov for the second time.
"It was a bit of a roller coaster tonight," Carter said. "Up two going into the third, give it back and then all hell kind of broke loose there. But we stuck with it. It's a resilient group. You give one up, you get right back on the horse and get working. A real strong game in that sense from our team tonight, sticking with it, grinding it out and ultimately getting the win."
The Islanders did end up tying the score yet again, making it 4-4 with 5:43 left to play. But Tanev - aka the Sheriff - got on his own horse and netted the winner with 3:36 remaining in regulation. And as the clock ticked down, Carter was one of the players on the ice helping to preserve the lead.
"He's just a really tough player to play against," Letang said. "He's got the size and the skill and the speed. So to have him on our side, it's a big boost."