Second Leading Scorer is a D-man? Record Broken From 85 Years Ago
It's no surprise who is at the top of the goal-scoring leaderboard and the overall points leader: Connor McDavid with 12 goals and 12 assists.
However a defenseman has scored 10 goals and recorded 18 points in only 13 games. It's not the phenom Cale Makar. It's not Roman Josi either. It's 32-year-old Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks.
Karlsson has already equaled last year's goal total and is halfway to last year's point total of 35. His high-point mark with the Sharks in five seasons has been just 45 points, granted the most games he's played in a season since 2018 is 56.
He has found himself in some rare company among d-men as his 10 goals in just 13 games is the most by a d-man in 85 years.
Karlsson is a former two-time Norris Trophy winner from his days with the Ottawa Senators. His career-high in goals is 21 and he has scored 82 points in a season. With the departure of Brent Burns to Carolina, Karlsson has assumed No. 1 d-man duties and certainly has thrived for the Sharks this season.
His 26.3% shooting percentage is definitely not sustainable, but there's no reason that he can't reach the 60-point mark for the first time in five years.
| POLL | ||
Is Karlsson a Norris candidate again? | ||
| Absolutely | 20 | 43.5 % |
| Will Fall Off | 16 | 34.8 % |
| No | 10 | 21.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
