Washington Capitals’ John Carlson set to return to lineup versus Blackhawks

Carlson has missed the last 36 games due to an upper-body injury. He has registered 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 30 games this season. The Capitals were 18-10-2 throughout the 30 games that Carlson played.  

The 33-year-old left the Dec. 23rd, 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets after taking a slap shot to the face from Jets’ defender Brenden Dillon. Carlson collapsed to the ice in a significant amount of pain and was helped off. Upon further evaluation, Carlson was transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons.  He was placed on injured reserve just a couple of days after the incident. 

Last season, the Natick, Massachusetts product registered a whopping 71 points (17 goals, 54 assists) in 78 games. Carlson was originally selected 27th overall by the Capitals in the 2008 NHL Draft and has spent his entire 14-year and 914-game career with the Capitals so far, compiling 140 goals and 474 assists for 614 points. He is in year five of an eight-year, $64 million extension he signed in 2018; the contract has a cap hit of $8,000,000. 

The Capitals currently sit fourth in the Wild Card race in the Eastern Conference with a record of 33-31-8 for 74 points and a points percentage of .514%. They trail the Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders.