Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson played through heel fractures vs. Bruins

The Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins in six games, but Erik Karlsson was operating at less than full strength.

Clarke MacArthur’s overtime goal on Sunday gave the Ottawa Senators a 4-2 first-round series win over the Boston Bruins, and they’ll now advance to take on the New York Rangers. Defenseman and Norris Trophy finalist Erik Karlsson played a game-high 29:53 in the contest, while tallying an assist.

Karlsson also played over 41 minutes in Game 5 on Friday, a 3-2 double-overtime win for the Bruins to extend the series, with some reported cramp issues toward the end of that game. He ended up with six points (all assists) in the series, including a sweet shot/pass to Bobby Ryan for the only goal of Game 4, though Game 6 was the only game against Boston where Karlsson did not register a shot on goal.

Turns out, he may have had a good reason to not dial up a slap shot on Bruins’ goalie Tuukka Rask during Sunday’s game.

Karlsson reportedly played the entire series against the Bruins with two hairline fractures in his left heel. The injury dates back to a Mar. 28 game against the Philadelphia Flyers, when he blocked a shot and subsequently missed five of Ottawa’s final seven regular season games.

Karlsson was quick to dismiss any concern about his status for the upcoming series against the Rangers.

Next: NHL Playoffs 2017: Updated bracket

Karlsson had 71 points (17 goals, 54 assists) in 77 regular season games this year, and he has kept up his prolific point pace through the first round of the playoffs. If the Senators are going to pull off a relative upset of the Rangers, Karlsson will be one of the driving forces on both ends of the ice.