Tuesday’s Three Stars: Carter scores thrice in Game 2 victory; Quick shuts out Coyotes

This dude seems upset about something.

No. 1 Star: Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings

Jeff Carter scored the Kings' second goal in the second period, after which the game got out of hand. Then, he took advantage of the game getting out of hand, cashing in twice more on the myriad powerplays in a 4-0 Game 2 win. Carter becomes the first Kings' player since to score a hat trick in a postseason game since Wayne Gretzky did it in 1993, a fact that also serves the dual purpose of shaming the Coyotes further by mentioning Wayne Gretzky in the same sentence as them.

No. 2 Star: Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings

He had a pretty big margin for error, but Quick was flawless just for kicks, making 24 saves for his third career playoff goose eggs. The trio of shutouts tied a team record set by Felix Potvin.

No. 3 Star: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

Doughty was excellent in just over 23 minutes of work, tying Jeff Carter with a game-high 5 shots, picking up an assist, and finishing the night a plus-2.

Honourable mention: Anze Kopitar added two assists, and also make this sweet drag move that would have resulted in a goal if Mike Smith hadn't made an even sweeter save:

Conn Smythe Watch: 1. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings; 2. Brad Richards, New York Rangers; 3. Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings; 4. Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey Devils; 5. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers; 6. Mike Smith, Phoenix Coyotes; 7. Mike Richards, Los Angeles Kings; 8. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings 9. Travis Zajac, New Jersey Devils; 10. Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings

Dishonourable mention: the entire Phoenix Coyotes team after Jeff Carter scored the Kings' second goal, with special credit to Shane Doan, Martin Hanzal, and Derek Morris, all of whom made dirty, suspendable plays. I suspect Doan will be fined, Morris will be forgiven, and Hanzal will be suspended for the Coyotes' must-win Game 3.