What we learned from the Kings’ 5-4 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames

A few more takeaways from Tuesday night’s throwback victory -- bringing back memories of those run-and-gun, high-scoring Smythe Division days -- before the Kings prepare for the Biggest Game of the Season.

That would be Thursday’s pivotal meeting with the Anaheim Ducks at Staples Center, the game with massive Pacific Division implications.

Overtime became an ally, not a foe this season

The Kings’ warm embrace of three-on-three continued with their 12th overtime win this season. They’ve gone 2-2 in shootouts.

Kings Coach Darryl Sutter took a minute afterward to express his pride on how well they’ve adapted to the format.

“We’ve been really good three-on-three all year,” he said. “You look at our first three guys: Jeff [Carter], Kopi [Anze Kopitar] and Drew [Doughty] have been out there for those goals so many times. It’s awesome to see.”

It helped them achieve a franchise-record 47 wins. The Kings have 99 points with two games remaining in the regular season.

“You get 47 wins in a year and your goal going in is to try to get 100 points and we’re that close,” Sutter said. “Pretty good for a team that didn’t make the playoffs last year.”

Carter’s finishing abilities

Carter, all alone, in overtime is about as automatic as it gets. The Kings center had his sixth game-winning goal, three of them coming in overtime, with his standout effort just 40 seconds in.

“I said a quick prayer and it went in,” joked Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin.

Carter 2.0, the leadership factor

Carter has been the one applying the quiet pressure, saying all the right things during the Kings’ recent struggles, especially on the road.

He continued in that vein after Tuesday’s win, saying the result was a welcome “morale” boost but there was still plenty on the to-do list.

“The main focus is really dialing in our game,” Carter said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, cleaning up some areas of our game and whatnot.