UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The Penguins figured they were getting a nice complementary piece for their lineup when they acquired Jeff Carter from the Kings at the trade deadline.
That giving Los Angeles a conditional third-round draft choice in 2022 and a conditional fourth-rounder the following year was a reasonable investment to add Carter's versatility and experience and upgrade their roster for the stretch drive and playoffs.
And maybe even for the 2021-22 season, since Carter's contract runs through then.
Well, they were wrong.
Turns out Carter hasn't been a prudent pickup for the Penguins.
He's been a flat-out steal.
Might have been even if the Penguins had given up a first-rounder (remember when they used to have those?) to get him.
Carter hasn't just settled into the niche he was brought in to fill, which was to balance the forward lines, add to the Penguins' depth down the middle, score an occasional goal, win some faceoffs and handle a little special-teams work.
Doing that would have been more than enough to validate the deal, but Carter has developed into as much of a difference-maker as anyone on this team, which has no shortage of them.
So while Kris Letang says that "I think everybody knew we were getting a really, really good player," it's hard to imagine that many, if any, people envisioned Carter having the impact he's had.
Which, if it were much greater, would be registering on seismographs across North America.
Consider the Penguins' 5-4 victory against the New York Islanders Thursday night in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series, which allowed them to grab a 2-1 advantage and reclaim the home-ice advantage they surrendered when New York won the series opener.
Carter had two goals -- both momentum-changers shortly after New York had scored -- controlled 14 of 20 faceoffs and played such a strong overall game that Mike Sullivan gave him more ice time (19:51) than any of his other 11 forwards.
"(Carter) was a horse for us tonight," Brandon Tanev said.
A thoroughbred, to be precise.
As he has been so often since joining the Penguins, especially during the past few weeks.
That's something few anticipated being such a frequent occurrence when Ron Hextall traded for a 36-year-old who was slotted in behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at center.
"To have the depth we have at this point, with (Carter) in the middle now, we think a pretty balanced attack," Sullivan said. "On any given night, any line can score."
Especially, it seems, if Carter is a member of it.
Perhaps the most impressive thing he did Thursday was to prevent the spotlight from settling on Tanev, who scored the game-winning goal with just over 3 1/2 minutes to go in regulation by batting a puck out of the air and past New York goalie Semyon Varlamov.
Or on Letang, who had a goal, two assists and, in general, the latest in a series of games that would make almost any superlative seem terribly inadequate.
Or on Malkin, who rejoined the lineup after missing Games 1 and 2 and contributed a pair of primary assists and a solid overall performance.
Or, for that matter, on Carter's entire team, which wilted at times during the third period, losing leads of 3-1 and 4-3, but which ultimately was able to overcome a withering surge by the Islanders during those 20 minutes.
"It was a bit of a roller-coaster," Carter said.
Yeah, like Superior is a bit of a lake.
For all that Carter did to shape the outcome, his contribution might have been reduced to a footnote if not for an extraordinarily patient play by Tanev on the game-winning goal.
Tanev is best-known for doing things quickly -- he's a threat to the sound barrier every time he steps onto the ice -- but he put the Penguins ahead to stay because he was willing to bide his time.
Willing to stand in front of the New York net, waiting for gravity to drag the rebound of a Letang shot down far enough that Tanev could swat it into the Islanders' net without raising his stick above the level of the crossbar.
Which he did.
"You swing for that puck and hope for the best," Tanev said.
Which is precisely what he -- and his team -- got.
Tanev's goal came just 127 seconds after New York had tied the game, 4-4, when Scott Mayfield's point shot hit Cal Clutterbuck near the crease and caromed into the net to make it 4-4. Clutterbuck's only role in the goal was not moving quickly enough to get out of the path of the puck, but such details don't get reflected on the scoreboard.
All that really mattered was that, for the second time in the game and the third time in the series, New York had clawed back from a third-period deficit. That means the resilience of which the Penguins speak so often was being tested yet again.
They passed the test.
"It wasn't our best period," Tanev said. "But at the end of the day, we found a way to win, and that's what matters."
Mind you, there were some defensive lapses that figure to be discussed before Game 4 Saturday, along with several undisciplined penalties that cost the Penguins one goal and could have cost them much more.
The damage those lapses caused turned out to be superficial, though, and Tanev's goal guaranteed that the worst-case scenario for the Penguins now would be to have the series distilled to a best-of-three in which they would hold the home-ice advantage.
The outlook for the Islanders is considerably less promising, although center Mathew Barzal told reporters New York will not dwell on what Carter and his teammates did in Game 3.
"As soon as that buzzer rang, it's over with," he said. "It's the playoffs. You can't dwell on anything, can't hang your head for too long. Obviously, it stings a bit because that would have been a huge win to get, but we're in a playoff series. It's first to four (victories), so we'll be all right."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• After analyzing video of the Penguins' first goal more heavily than any footage since the Zapruder film, credit for it was changed from Zach Aston-Reese to Letang. The original ruling was that Aston-Reese had deflected Letang's shot, but the off-ice officials concluded that it actually struck Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock.
• Letang's assist on the game-winner was the 61st of his playoff career, moving him past Kevin Stevens and into sixth place on the franchise's all-time list. His three-point game was Letang's fifth in the playoffs, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Larry Murphy for the most by a Penguins defenseman.
• The Penguins have led after two periods in each of the first three games, while New York has been in front for a total of just three minutes, 43 seconds so far.
• Darius Kasparaitis, a fan favorite of both franchises during his playing days, attended the game and was introduced to the crowd. And probably wished he could have been in the middle of the third-period mayhem.
•The five goals allowed by Varlamov matched his career playoff high and the most he gave up during a game in the 2020-21 regular season.
• This was the fourth time the Penguins won a playoff game in which they surrendered three game-tying goals. The previous three happened during runs that ended in Stanley Cup championships (1991, 1992, 2009).
• New York has lost the past seven playoff series in which it faced a 2-1 deficit.
• The NHL announced that Game 5 Monday at PPG Paints Arena will begin at 7 p.m. (or sometime thereafter, actually).
THE ESSENTIALS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at Nassau Coliseum:
1. Kris Letang, Penguins
2. Jeff Carter, Penguins
3. Scott Mayfield, Islanders
THE INJURY
• Goalie Casey DeSmith is "day-to-day" because of an unspecified lower-body injury.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker-Evgeni Malkin-Kasperi Kapanen
Jared McCann-Jeff Carter-Frederick Gaudreau
Zach Aston-Reese-Teddy Blueger-Brandon Tanev
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Mike Matheson-Cody Ceci
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
And for Barry Trotz's Islanders:
Leo Komarov-Mathew Barzal-Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier-Brock Nelson-Josh Bailey
Kyle Palmieri-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock
Nick Leddy-Scott Mayfield
Andy Greene-Noah Dobson
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins are scheduled to practice Friday at noon to prepare for Game 4 Saturday at 3:08 p.m. (or sometime after 3, anyway) at Nassau Coliseum.
THE CONTENT
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