When reigning Norris Trophy winning defenseman Erik Karlsson went down with a severed Achilles tendon courtesy of a Matt Cooke skate, it was assumed that he would be lost for the season. At the time (February 13) the Senators were sitting at 7-4-2, though they would fall to the Penguins after losing arguably their best player.
Nobody expected to hear the news that Karlsson was back on his skates in late April and would never have predicted that he would be back for the playoffs. He returned with three regular season games left to play to get his legs underneath him and help secure a playoff bid. Karlsson’s stick, positioning and shot looked every bit the same as the gun slinging defenseman that Ottawa had come to know and love. However, and to no one’s surprise because of the injury, Karlsson’s skating was nowhere near 100%.
It’s hard to imagine that the Senators could be better off without their number one defenseman and best player, but is 65-70% of Erik Karlsson helping the Senators in their playoff run? With Karlsson in the regular season lineup the Senators were 9-6-2 and 16-11-4 without. In his 17 games played Karlsson had six goals and eight assists, four assists in three games after returning from injury.
In the first round series against Montreal, Karlsson looked solid. He registered a goal and five assists in the five game blitz of the second seeded Canadiens. Ottawa as a team seemed to be a bad matchup for the injury-plagued Habs and put them away with relative ease.
The second round has proven to be a different story for both Karlsson and his Senators. The Pittsburgh Penguins have met the Senators in every conceivable angle of this series. They currently lead the series 3-1 and look very capable of closing the series out on Friday night in the steel city. Through the first four games the star defenseman has dished out only two assists, both coming in mop up duty during Wednesday nights’ pasting on home ice.
The Senators also welcomed back Jason Spezza prior to Game Three of the series. Spezza’s return might have inspired the 2-1 double overtime win against the powerful Pens, but he is coming off of back surgery and his effectiveness might actually be less than Karlsson’s.
During the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs if you can lace up your skates than you can play. If all of your extremities are attached, then you expect to be in the lineup. No one would blame Erik Karlsson if he sat out the rest of the season. He suffered a gruesome injury, the type that makes you cringe when you think about it, nevermind watching the replay.
However, the young Swede earned some major points with fans and teammates by never giving up on the season. His return gave the Ottawa club a spark and a belief that they could overcome almost anything after seeing their best player skate of the Pittsburgh ice like a flamingo three months ago. The Senators might not have a great chance to beat the Penguins in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but they have no chance without Erik Karlsson.