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John Carlson expected to return against Philadelphia Flyers

By Dave Stevenson

Feb 25, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first period at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first period at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Capitals defenseman John Carlson is expected to be back in the lineup on Wednesday against the Flyers

The Washington Capitals have been doing extremely well as of late despite suffering numerous injuries. They are 7-2-1 over their last ten games despite not having their best defenseman John Carlson. Carlson has missed a month due to a lower body injury but it looks like he will return against the Flyers on Wednesday.

The Capitals are taking it easy with Carlson. Carlson usually skates on the first pairing, but with the pairing of Matt Niskanen and Karl Alzner playing so well lately, Caps head coach Barry Trotz has Carlson on the second pairing with Nate Schmidt. Carlson is usually the point man on the Capitals first power play unit, but in practice today, he was on the second power play unit. Carlson didn’t give a definitive yes or no answer when asked if he’ll play against the Flyers.

John Carlson has been amazing this season for Washington. He has six goals and 21 assists for 27 points in 34 games this season. He has 12 points on the Caps power play (two goals and 10 assists) while averaging over 24 minutes of ice time per game. He plays during all situations and is a driving force of the Capitals offense. While the Caps have done well without him, that’s more of a testament to how deep the Capitals are than to how important Carlson is to the team.

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