LOS ANGELES — Jeff Carter’s official introduction to the NHL on Oct. 5, 2005 featured the Philadelphia Flyers rookie playing against an Original Six opponent, the New York Rangers, and a spot on a line with the Peter Forsberg and Simon Gagne.

That would be Forsberg, a future Hall of Famer, and Gagne, who would go on to score a career-high 47 goals that season.

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“It lasted about four shifts,” Carter told The Athletic on Wednesday, looking amused, as he recounted his NHL debut.

“And then, I was right down on the fourth line. Actually, it was one of the first times that I played on the wing. I was always the centerman growing up, so it was new to me … Obviously, a big moment in my career.

“Your first one … but long time ago.”

Fourteen years later, the two-time Stanley Cup champion has come full circle. At 34, Carter playing on the wing again, and the move may end up prolonging what already has been an illustrious career.

The Kings forward will play in his 1,000th NHL game on Saturday afternoon against the Vegas Golden Knights at Staples Center.

“It’s been a long time,” Carter said. “I would have liked to have been (at 1,000) a little quicker. The injuries the last few years have slowed that down. But it’s special.

“I haven’t thought about it a ton yet, but I remember sitting on the bench, watching Kopi (Anze Kopitar), and Brownie (Dustin Brown), Dion (Phaneuf) and Gabby (Marian Gaborik). I’ve been through a few of them (ceremonies) and it’s pretty cool. It’s a long time, the 14 years and a half years it’s taken. I don’t think it gets enough recognition as it probably should.”

Of the players taken in the first round in 2003, arguably one of the best-ever draft classes, Carter will be the 11th to have played 1,000 games, following Eric Staal, Thomas Vanek, Ryan Suter, Phaneuf, Brown, Brent Seabrook, Ryan Getzlaf, Brent Burns, Ryan Kesler and Corey Perry.

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What are the odds of Perry and Carter, international teammates and frequent NHL rivals, hitting the 1,000-game plateau days apart?

Perry, who played his entire career with the Ducks until this season, appeared in his 1,000th game on Wednesday with the Dallas Stars in Calgary. Perry and Carter won Olympic gold together for Team Canada in Sochi in 2014. One of the best moments between Carter and Perry came during the 2014 playoff series between the Kings and Ducks, which left Carter amused.

John Stevens learned early on that Carter was impervious to nerves on the big stage. Carter joined the AHL Philadelphia Phantoms after his junior season wrapped and led the league in scoring in the 2005 playoffs.

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Stevens was the coach and thought he probably provided some reassurance to the rookie.

“I can remember being in the final in Chicago (against the Wolves) and here was this young kid and I’m thinking he’s probably nervous,” Stevens said. “I pulled him aside and said, ‘Jeff, this is just hockey. Nothing has really changed. I know it’s the Final.’

“He just looked at me and said, ‘John, I don’t get nervous for hockey games.’’’

Stevens passed along what he was thinking at the time: “OK, we’re good then.”

Carter didn’t remember the conversation but recognized his mindset.

“I understand that when you turn pro, it turns into a business, but it’s still just going out and playing a game, right?” he said. “Johnny was really good with me, in that aspect of just go and play, do your thing. I’m sure I probably said some version of that.”

After those early days with the Phantoms and then the Flyers, Stevens and Carter were reunited in Los Angeles.

Carter, having spent 39 unhappy games in Columbus after the Flyers traded him there in 2011, was moved to the Kings from the Blue Jackets shortly before the trade deadline in 2012.

“I literally followed him around for basically my whole career,” Carter said of Stevens. “I would say that Johnny was probably that guy for me. He was there from Day 1 when I was still learning the game.”

The Flyers were having success, as was Carter, on an individual basis. What was important was that Stevens taught him to play the right way.

“When I was younger, I was so focused on, ‘I have to score, I have to score, I have to score,’” Carter said. “I wouldn’t score and he’d always tell me that you check for your chances, so get back to a fourth-line mentality, play from underneath. You do that and you end up scoring goals. He was right. Every time.”

Stevens, now an assistant in Dallas, was on Darryl Sutter’s coaching staff when the Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014 and succeeded Sutter as coach. Stevens was dismissed by the Kings last season after 13 games.

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In 20 playoff games in 2012, Carter had 13 points (eight goals, five assists), and he was an even bigger factor in their second championship run with 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 26 playoff games in 2014.

Stevens has been a fixture in Carter’s long career. He watched Carter go from an AHL prodigy to a 46-goal, 84-point season in 2008-09 with Philadelphia to Stanley Cup champion with the Kings to a husband and father of two young children.

“I’ve known Jeff his whole adult life,” Stevens said. “I think the world of him. He and Mike Richards are two of my favorite players. I’ve been with them both almost equally as long.

“I’m so happy for Jeff. I think he’s still a real good player and still has lots of offer. Very proud of what he accomplished. If you look at Jeff’s career and how many things he’s won, a decorated athlete. He won a gold medal, a Calder Cup champion, two Stanley Cup championships and part of a world championship team.

“I see him now and he looks like he could be on the cover of Men’s Fitness.”

A random play, one that could have ended Carter’s playing career, was the start of the most recent and toughest chapter of his professional life.

It happened late in the first period against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 18, 2017 in a game at Staples Center. Montreal defenseman Jeff Petry’s skate cut a tendon in Carter’s left ankle, which would require surgery and a long and difficult rehabilitation.

“If you were watching the game, you wouldn’t even have known that something happened because it was just an accident,” Carter’s wife, Megan, said in a phone interview with The Athletic. “It wasn’t a big collision or he wasn’t carried off the ice.”

Megan was late in a pregnancy when he was injured and needed surgery.

“Two weeks later, it’s our son’s first birthday and the next week our daughter was born and there’s my husband who still can’t walk or carry or do much with the babies,” she said. “That was pretty intense time for us as a family.”

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Carter missed 55 games in the 2017-18 season after surgery to repair the tendon in his ankle. An injury that severe takes time, much more than anyone can imagine, and Carter wasn’t inclined to talk about the painful recovery, much less make excuses.

New Kings coach Todd McLellan noticed a spark in Carter’s game in training camp and acknowledged the struggles of the team last season helped derail Carter, earlier noting that “the train wasn’t moving very fast … and he got stuck in it.”

“He loves playing the game right now,” McLellan said on Wednesday. “I don’t think you get to 1,000 games and dislike what you’re doing. He seems to have a passion and energy now and a little spark. He’s been blessed to be around really good players and good teams but he’s also made those players better.”

Said Megan: “For Jeff’s sake, I couldn’t imagine him not being a part of this team. He just loves these guys so much and just wants to be there for everybody.”

In 19 games this season, Carter has seven points (five goals, two assists) and feels he is trending in the right direction.

“I feel really good this year,” he said. “Putting in the work over the summer, I feel like I’ve got my jump back. My skating’s back. Maybe being on the wing has helped me a little bit, just with the load of the game.

“But I just feel comfortable out there again. Last year was a tough year. I never really felt comfortable, coming off the injury and whatnot, but I think it took a lot longer than what we expected to get back to where I’m at. I still have a little ways to go, but I definitely feel like it’s coming round again.”

Fatherhood has given him a wider perspective. His son, Caden, is 3, and his daughter, Emmy, had her second birthday this week. Jeff and Megan Carter are dug in, involved in the community and deeply involved in charitable endeavors, most prominently animal rescue efforts (Wags & Walks).

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“It’s all come full circle now,” he said. “Twenty years old, single, living in Philly and a young team, having fun off the ice and success on the ice. And now, 15 years later, married, two kids, and it’s a lot of fun. Kids obviously change you and your perspective on everything. No matter how hard it is here, you still go home and you’ve got a smile on your face and everything.

“Once you get home, everything’s good, right? I talked to Drew (Doughty) about that the other day. He said, ‘I can’t wait to get home.’ I’m like, ‘No matter how hard things are here, you go home and everything’s good, right?’ Big changes but for the best.”

After this season, Carter has two years remaining on the 11-year, $58 million contact he signed with the Flyers. He told The Athletic in an interview a little less than a year ago that he doesn’t want to go anywhere else.

That hasn’t changed.

“I’m focused on playing the rest of my career here and helping these young guys, helping the team turn it around,” Carter said. “And I think maybe our record doesn’t show it right now, but we have made strides. Maybe from the outside looking in, it doesn’t seem like it but in here we know that we have made strides.

“There’s a lot of work still to be done. And I think that I can be a big part of helping these young guys. They can help me too.”

(Top photo of Jeff Carter and family provided by Megan Carter)