Capitals defenseman John Carlson was named NHL third star of the week (Dec. 5-Dec. 11) on Monday. The 21-year-old had a goal and seven assists in three games. He posted three assists in a 5-4 loss to Florida last Monday. He had an empty-net goal and two assists in a 5-3 at Ottawa on Wednesday and he had a secondary assist on the final goal in the 4-2 win vs. Toronto on Friday.
Not a bad week. The last time any Washington defenseman had three points in consecutive games was Kevin Hatcher early in the 1993-94 season. After a relatively slow start, Carlson has three goals and 10 assists in his last 11 games. Overall, he has five goals and 15 assists. Those 20 points rank third on the team behind only Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. Carlson is a plus-7 in 28 games. Calgary forward Jarome Iginla was named first star with Minnesota goalie Matt Hackett the second star.
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Carlson has been on the ice for 2.47 goals against/60 minutes. That’s relatively mediocre as we hit the 1/3 mark of the season. Carlson ranks second in quality of competition faced (0.134), according to the web site Behind the Net, among all Caps defenseman. Only partner Karl Alzner (0.176) is seeing tougher matchups right now.
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