(Caps Outsider)
Put this in your pipe and smoke it. As of now, Caps defenseman John Carlson is leading the league in points. With a goal and two assists on Wednesday, Carlson leap-frogged a couple of NHL players, including Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to get his 14th point of the season.
When told he was on pace for 143 points this season, Carlson said ‘Next!’ and then said he was getting lucky and passing to teammates who happened to be scoring.
Also, according to Caps PR, he’s the first defenseman in the team’s history to score 14 points in the team’s first eight games. Other than Carlson, forwards Alex Semin and Alex Ovechkin have also accomplished that for the Caps.
It’s unlikely that Carlson will maintain this points pace, but his performance thus far is a great step toward becoming a Norris Trophy finalist, if not winner.
Carlson also passed Sergei Gonchar for the 4th most points in Caps history for a defenseman with 417. He trails Kevin Hatcher (426), Scott Stevens (429) and Calle Johansson (474). In other words, Carlson will soon become be the top-scoring defenseman in Caps history.
The Oilers play at 9:30 so it’s possible Edmonton’s scorers, who each have 12 points, catch up in the NHL scoring race, but let’s enjoy this for the moment.
Note: McDavid and Draisaitl passed Carlson later that night.
John Carlson is the first defenseman in franchise history to record 14 points in the team's first eight games. He joins Alex Ovechkin (2009-10: 9g, 7a) and Alex Semin (2008-09: 7g, 7a) as the only players in franchise history to record at least 14 points in the first eight games.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 17, 2019
