When the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins meet, the potential for both teams’ star players to have big nights. On Tuesday in the Steel City, Capitals defenseman John Carlson did just that with an assist in the final minute of the second period.
With the Capitals down 3-2 as the final minute approached its conclusion, Carlson fed a pass to forward Daniel Sprong, who scored his eighth goal of the 2021-22 regular season to tie the game at 3-3.
Not only did Sprong tie it up with this SWEET move…WE ALL GET NUGS!!!
Tomorrow you can get a FREE six piece McNuggets with minimum $1 purchase on the McDonald’s app to celebrate! (Available at participating Washington, DC, area restaurants.)
https://t.co/j684WZWANw pic.twitter.com/bYzbCC6hrO— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) February 2, 2022
Carlson’s assist tied him with his former juniors (London Knights) and Capitals Head Coach (and Washington Capitals great) Dale Hunter for sixth all-time on the franchise career Points list with 556.
John Carlson picked up the primary assist on Sprong’s goal, and with that point, Carlson has tied Dale Hunter for sixth on the franchise points list (both at 556 points).
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) February 2, 2022
Carlson has now recorded 124 goals and 432 assists in 851 career Games Played with the Capitals, after being drafted with the 27th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
Why do I feel Carlson isn’t talked about enough in terms of his place in Capitals’ history and among the many d-men and players that are considered the all-time franchise greats?
As a rule, Caps defensemen tend to get unappreciated in our fanbase, especially those who are offensive defenseman. They get castigated a lot. Remember Larry Murphy, Kevin Hatcher, Sergei Gonchar, Mike Green, and now Carlson. (Scott Stevens was probably appreciated by the fan base but he was history between coming up for restricted free agency at a time when Pollin didn’t want to pay plus the Limousine Incident.