Washington Capitals D John Carlson Emerging Among NHL’s Elite

The 26 year old defenseman has been one of the Washington Capitals’ best players in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, continuing to emerge as one of the NHL’s top blue liners.

With his assist on T.J. Oshie’s game-winning goal on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals defender John Carlson recorded his eleventh point of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. His point per game average so far this postseason has him first on his team in terms of scoring, with four goals and seven assists.

Carlson’s regular season was marred by injuries, something that he has never before experienced in his career. Prior to sitting out on December 28th, he had played in 412 consecutive games, which put him ten games away from tying the franchise record for consecutive games played. His fellow defenseman and former defensive partner Karl Alzner now holds that record.

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His eight goals and 31 assists over 56 games during the regular season was nothing to scoff at, but there was an overwhelming feeling that he could have been much, much better.

He returned for 13 games following his first absence, but he only recorded four assists over that span. That was when the Washington Capitals decided to shut him down once again, this time for the majority of the month of March. It reaffirmed the beliefs that something had still been bothering Carlson. Losing Carlson was a big loss, but with such a big lead over the rest of the NHL, it was a hit that the Capitals could afford to take.

He played in nine of the ten remaining regular season games, missing only the season finale along with several other high profile teammates. We saw much more of the old John Carlson in those nine games, with him recording two goals and six assists.

This likely served as a confidence boost for the Washington Capitals’ number one blue liner. He has been nothing short of stellar in the postseason to this point.

He opened up the scoring in his team’s first round series against the Philadelphia Flyers with a power play goal, and would eventually go on to score a goal on the man advantage in each of the first three games of the series. He was a big reason why the Caps’ previously anemic power play went an absurd 8-for-17 over those three opening games, which the Washington Capitals coincidentally won.

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Though he was held off of the scoreboard over the remaining three games of that series like many of his teammates, he has been one one of the best players on the ice in the second round against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He has recorded a point in each game of the series so far, and and has been above 53% in possession at evens despite being paired with several different teammates along the way. He was alongside Brooks Orpik before his three game suspension – which he will return from in game six – as well as two young defenders in Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Orlov.

He has also done something as of late that his teammates have struggled to do, which is stay out of the penalty box. He took two minor penalties, one in each of the first two games of the postseason, but has not taken a penalty since. This is especially important because he is one of the Washington Capitals’ vital special teams players, both on the power play and the penalty kill.

League-wide, Carlson has also been one of the most productive players in the playoffs. He ranks second among defenseman with his 11 points, trailing only Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks who has 13 points. Among all skaters, Carlson ranks eighth in the league in points, which is arguably even more impressive. He ranks above both Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby in that regard. He is also logging over 27 minutes per game in the second round, indicating the trust that the Capitals coaching staff has in him.

John Carlson is posting some elite numbers during these playoffs, and is undoubtedly a player that will need to continue stepping up if the Washington Capitals are to come back in their second round series and keep their championship hopes alive.

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Carlson has long been looked at as the Capitals best defenseman, but after his impressive stretch over the past month, he will certainly start getting even more league-wide recognition as well.

(Stats via Corsica and Hockey-Ref)