February 23 postgame quotes: Jeff Carter

On where his line’s increased production is coming from:
“I don’t know. We’re playing well as a line and [have been] winning a lot of puck battles lately. Richie’s doing a great job of finding me. Lewie’s doing a great job of getting on pucks in the forecheck and turning them over for us. I’m just kind of hanging out in the slot, and it’s been working.”

On Trevor Lewis’ success on the left side of the line:
“He’s been working real hard for us. Even when he wasn’t scoring, he was getting opportunities and creating chances. When you’re doing that, it’s just a matter of time before the puck’s going to go in the net.”

On the importance of getting an early goal considering the team’s occasional sluggishness in home day games:
“[The Kopitar line] did a great job of starting it off for us. I think their first four or five shifts, they were all over them there in their zone. When you see that, the team just kind of feeds off it. It’s not easy coming home after a big road trip, and playing an afternoon game at home sometimes you come out a little slow. But we did a great job of coming out hard, winning battles and kind of putting ‘em back on their heels.”

On whether the team is gaining momentum:
“Yeah. I think this was a pretty solid game for us. It’s nice for us to get more than two or thre goals. That’s a plus. I think things have started to come around. It’s still a work in progress.”

On the importance of taking advantage of the home-heavy schedule:
“It’s huge. It’s arguably the biggest stretch of the season. When you get a stretch like this at home, you really have to take advantage of it. We’ve only played 16, 17 games, but we’re running out of time here. There aren’t many games left. We’ve got to get down to it.”