Kings’ dogs play right into the fans’ hands

One by one, some of the Kings’ players came down the hallway after a photo shoot Friday at their practice facility in El Segundo.

The burning question was not: Were you wearing Prada or Versace?

It was: What’s the name of your dog?

In the case of center, Jeff Carter, it would be dog(s). He posed with three of them, for the purpose of an upcoming team calendar for charity. It will benefit four organizations and could be released in late November or early December.

The post-practice mood was festive, befitting a team on a six-game winning streak, including two road victories earlier this week in Canada, at Edmonton and Winnipeg.

There is something about the Kings and their dogs and fan interest. One of Carter’s other dogs, Cece, a white Maltese, went missing in October in Hermosa Beach and Carter and his wife Megan sent out alerts on Twitter. Concerned community members whipped into action and the Carters found Cece a day-and-a-half later.

Center Anze Kopitar’s dog, Gustl, has been the most well-known of the animals. An individual not connected with the Kopitars runs a Twitter account named after Gustl, and currently has 3,498 followers.

Later, power forward Milan Lucic walked through with his cute dog named Boo. Perhaps Boo was a nod to the Halloween spirit or maybe Lucic likes Lobo (“Me and You and a Dog Named Boo.�)

Neither.

Lucic’s young daughter made the call. “Monsters, Inc.,� he said, smiling, referring to the girl cartoon character named Boo. Now if Lucic gets booed, it can be neatly explained away as a reference to his dog.

There’s been scarce booing during the recent Kings’ run. They’ve been composed, scoring the winning goal in the last five minutes in the last two games.

“We’ve won games in different ways,� Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said. “In such a capsule — we’ve only played nine games — but if we said we could have been 6-3, we’d have taken 6-3 and go from there.

“If you score the first goal, it makes a difference. You can also play really well and not score the first goal and be able to work around that. When you say ‘poise’ or whatever that is, it’s important for all of us. That’s got to come to the coaches to the players and the players to each other.�

Defenseman Matt Greene, on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, took part in practice but there is no timetable for his return.

“I feel good. I’m getting better,� said Greene. “Just getting stronger now and trying to get ready to be at 100% here hopefully.�

He has especially been impressed by the team’s forecheck during this winning run.

“Guys are getting back to making sure, getting that first puck stopped, being physical and that opens up everything,� Greene said. “That really keys our game. We rely heavily on that.�

KINGS VS. NASHVILLE

When: 1 p.m. Saturday.

On the air: TV: Fox Sports West; Radio: 790.

Etc.: The Predators (7-1-1) are the lone team in the league not to have allowed a first-period goal. Nashville is off to its second-best start in franchise history. They went 8-0-1 to start the 2005-06 season.

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Twitter: @reallisa