Jeff Carter delivers in Kings’ 1-0 overtime victory over Flyers
Reporting from philadelphia — The day, once quiet and sleepy, now brimmed with all that was flashier than the bearded 34-year-old in net.
The Kings’ 1-0 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers was their fifth consecutive victory, matching their best streak of the season. Jeff Carter scored his NHL-leading ninth game-winning goal of the season, 2 minutes 35 seconds into the extra period, past an otherwise unbeatable Michal Neuvirth. The Kings improved to 10-1 in overtime games. Forward Tyler Toffoli, who had not played since Dec. 20, made an encouraging return. Defenseman Drew Doughty stretched his career-long assist streak to seven games.
But the win was anchored, in no small part, by goaltender Peter Budaj. His second consecutive shutout gave him seven, a career high and the most in the league. He has not given up a goal in more than 144 minutes. He faced only 17 shots across 62:35 seconds Saturday.
All that mattered was that he saved them all.
“I feel pretty good out there. Thank God I feel healthy and strong,” Budaj said. “But most of all I think the team is playing really good in front of me. Like today, I know it was a 1-0 game, but I think we had more shots and more scoring chances. You know Philly had some but they weren’t able to shoot the puck, our guys did a good job blocking them and getting sticks in the lanes.”
When Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick injured his groin in a season-opening loss to the San Jose Sharks, Budaj was playing for the Ontario Reign in the American Hockey League. The Kings recalled him to back up Jeff Zatkoff, but Budaj quickly took hold of the starting spot.
Nearly four months later, Quick is still out and Budaj is having his best season since 2006–07, when he was 24 and won 31 games for the Colorado Avalanche. Two seasons later he was 20-29 before slowly fading away. He made only 11 starts in 2009-10, went to the Montreal Canadiens before the 2011–12 season and looked as if he would never reach 20 victories again. The low number of appearances wouldn’t allow it.
Yet, there he was in the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, grabbing his 25th win in his 45th game. The Flyers were kept in the game by a handful of acrobatic saves by Neuvirth, who shined in a loss. With nine minutes left in regulation, a booming “Let’s go Flyers!” sounded more like a restless prayer. It grew fainter as the two teams stumbled toward overtime, where Coach Darryl Sutter turned to Carter, Doughty and Anze Kopitar to finish it off.
They sent those fans stalking toward the exits, their heads shaking at an unanswered request.
“[Budaj] has been playing awesome for us, I’ve said it all along,” Doughty said. “He’s playing great. Making the big saves when we need them, making the easy saves when we need them too.
“Obviously, along with how well he’s playing, it’s a big testament to how well our team is playing in general, just defensively, offensively, our whole team is working hard to keep the puck out of the net and that’s why we’re putting up zeroes.”
KINGS UP NEXT
AT WASHINGTON
When: Sunday, 9 a.m. PST.
Where: Verizon Center.
On the air: TV: NBC; Radio: 790.
Update: The Kings and Capitals will be playing for the second straight day. The Capitals, who have the NHL’s best record, beat the Canadiens, 3-2, in Montreal on Saturday. They have won three of their last four games, and 15 of their last 18.
Twitter: @dougherty_jesse
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