from Tom Gulliti of NHL.com,
John Carlson's fast start has him being mentioned in the company of some of the best defensemen to play the game.
The Washington Capitals defenseman isn't the kind to bring up his own name in such conversations, but he's done plenty of talking with his play over the first 10 games.
Carlson leads the League with 18 points and 15 assists after assisting on Alex Ovechkin's goal in a 5-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. The 29-year-old is the third defenseman in the NHL to get as many as 18 points in his team's first 10 games, and the first to do it in 31 years, following Bobby Orr, who had 18 points in the first 10 games with the Boston Bruins in 1969-70 and 1973-74, and Paul Coffey, who had 20 points in the first 10 with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988-89.
Although Carlson acknowledges that being in the company of Hockey Hall of Famers such as Orr and Coffey is "pretty cool," he downplays his early season production.
"For a defenseman, I just think there's so much luck involved," Carlson said. "I think I'm making good plays, don't get me wrong. I'm not just dumping the puck in, although I did have one or two of those as well. But chances happen, chances get created and sometimes they go in and sometimes they don't. They seem to be going in right now, which is nice, so I'll just keep working the same way."
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