A look at a big milestone for one of the Caps’ longtime blueliners
5 – Number of players in franchise history who have played in 900+ games for the Capitals, an elite group which John Carlson is set to join when he takes the ice against the Blues tonight. Carlson will be just the second defenseman to hit this mark, alongside Calle Johansson (983), and the sixth Cap overall with Johansson, Alex Ovechkin (1,292), Nicklas Backstrom (1,058), Peter Bondra (961) and Kelly Miller (940).
Here’s more from Caps Today:
Since 2010-11 – Carlson’s first full season with Washington – he has played in 877 of the Capitals’ 929 games (94.4 percent). Carlson’s 877 games played in that span trails only Alex Ovechkin (896). Carlson, the 27th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, ranks fourth among his draft class in games played. The three players that rank ahead of Carlson were all selected within the first nine picks (Drew Doughty: 2nd overall, 1,033 GP; Josh Bailey: 9th overall, 1,008 GP; Steven Stamkos: 1st overall, 938 GP).
Carlson is the Capitals’ franchise leader in assists (467) and points (602) among defensemen and ranks second in games played (899) and third in goals (135) all-time among Washington blueliners. Since 2017-18, Carlson ranks first in the NHL in points among defensemen (73g-264a—337p), holding a 24-point lead over the next closest defensemen (Roman Josi: 313 points).
Congrats, Carly!