A grand moment for Carlson
WASHINGTON — Born in Boston but with most of his youth spent in New Jersey, Capitals defenseman John Carlson suited up for his 1,000th NHL game Saturday night with the Bruins in town.
The Capitals were positioned as Eastern Conference also-rans in mid-February, parked south of the eight-team playoff cut line with a 23-21-8 record. They then won 13 of their next 20 (13-6-1) and were clinging to the No. 2 wild-card spot ahead of puck drop.
Still one of the game’s exemplary power-play point men, Carlson has an 8-38–46 line in 73 games after scoring in the second period of the Bruins’ 3-2 shootout win Saturday. He clicked for 4-11–15 in the 20-game surge that lifted the Capitals back into the playoff mix, now in third place in the Metro Division as the Flyers drop to the second wild-card seed in the East.
“A great achievement for him,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, unaware until the morning workout that Carlson was about to reach the coveted 1,000game plateau. “I remember watching him in the USHL when I was a college scout. He was a guy that really blossomed that year and became a first-round pick.”
During the first break in the action at 6:17 of the first period, the Caps played a tribute to Carlson on the video screen above center ice. All the Bruins stood up along their bench and provided stick taps of respect. David Pastrnak opted to pull off his gloves and applaud the veteran. Carlson logged a game-high 30:16 in ice time, fired seven shot attempts (six of those blocked), and landed three hits.
Carlson, now 34, played the 2007-08 season at USHL Indiana, and that June was chosen 27 th overall by the Capitals in the NHL Draft. Two of the defensemen selected ahead of Carlson were No. 2 Drew Doughty and No. 4 Alex Pietrangelo, both of whom are also members of the 1,000games Club.
The Bruins in 2008 selected center Joe Colborne with the No. 16 pick, 11 slots ahead of Carlson.
“I just love how simple he makes the game, and how effective he is,” noted Montgomery. “He’s so efficient and executes so well. He’s a great power-play quarterback. He just moves it. He doesn’t complicate the game, he doesn’t look like he’s working all that hard, but he’s really good. And he’s got a cannon [of a shot] with great vision.”
Charlie McAvoy, who holds the No. 1 power-play point position for the Bruins, has great appreciation for Carlson, for his overall play and longevity. Carlson was only 19 when he stepped into the Capitals’ lineup full time after only a 48-game tutorial at AHL Hershey (where Chris Bourque was a Bears teammate).
“His consistency is probably the biggest thing,” said McAvoy, who also was only 19 when he made his NHL debut in the 2017 playoffs. “He’s been here forever, and I think that’s such a credit to an individual, to a player, to be able to have an impact in one place for their entire career. We saw that here with [Patrice Bergeron] and [Brad Marchand]. That’s awesome for him. He’s an outstanding player. He won [the 2018 Stanley Cup title] and from what I’ve heard, he’s just an awesome guy.”
Carlson became the 392nd NHLer to reach 1,000 games. Next up: Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner (999) and Pittsburgh’s Erik Karlsson (993). Ins and outs After clinching a playoff berth earlier in the week, the Bruins opened with a lineup that had Jakub Lauko subbing in for veteran James van Riemsdyk up front and veteran Kevin Shattenkirk back in the blue-line rotation, bumping Parker Wotherspoon to the sideline. “We’re trying different things,” said Montgomery, his club sputtering along at 1-3-0 in its last four. “Washington’s got that one heavy line with [T.J.] Oshie and [Alex] Ovechkin together, so let’s see how our top two D can handle it out there against them.”
The top defense pairing to start the evening had McAvoy riding with Hampus Lindholm. Matt Grzelcyk, often McAvoy’s partner, shifted to a pairing with Brandon Carlo. Shattenkirk and Andrew Peeke comprised the No. 3 pair.
Van Riemsdyk (11-27–38) has struggled of late, in part because he was slammed by a virus a couple of weeks ago. He has been scratched four times since March 11 and last picked up a point with an assist March 2 vs. the Islanders. He has not scored a goal since Feb. 17.
Progress report
Charlie Coyle (55) and Pavel Zacha (50) began the night with 105 points as the club’s 1 and 2 centers, a pace for 116 points. Last season, their final rides in Black and Gold, Nos. 1 and 2 Bergeron and David Krejci combined for 114 points.
McAvoy entered the night still in search of his second power-play goal of the season and carrying a line of 10-34–44 in 66 games. He played 67 games last season and finished 7-45–52.
Of late, Montgomery has been encouraging McAvoy to shoot more, especially on the man-advantage. He has seven shots over his last five games. Still plenty of room for improvement.
Jeremy Swayman drew the start in net and matched his career high in wins, improving to 24-8-8. He went 24-6-4 last season as backup to Linus Ullmark’s Vezinawinning 40-6-1.
Up next
The Bruins will enjoy an offday Easter Sunday prior to Monday’s practice and a flight to Nashville. They face the Predators Tuesday night, then the Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., on Thursday, after which they’ll have only five games remaining in the regular season.
The playoffs begin April 20, presumably with the Bruins opening at TD Garden. Had the playoffs begun Saturday, they would have faced the Capitals.