Ottawa Beats San Jose; Erik Karlsson Sets Team Record

Last season, no Canadian NHL teams made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for only the 2nd time since 1970. Although there is a long way to go, It is highly unlikely that will happen again this season. Edmonton, with 32 points, leads the Pacific Division and is third overall in the Western Conference. In the East, Montreal leads both the Atlantic Division and the conference with 37 points (what a difference a healthy Carey Price in goal makes), while Ottawa is 2nd in the Atlantic with 34 points, and tied for 4th overall in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens may be hitting a bump in the road however, as leading scorer Alex Galchenyuk is out six weeks with a knee injury.

Speaking of Ottawa, the Senators are on a California road trip, and took on the San Jose Sharks December 7th. Chris Kelly scored the game winning goal which was followed by a Jean-Gabriel Pageau empty netter as the Senators beat the Sharks 4-2. Defenseman Erik Karlsson had a goal and two assists for the Senators, and in the process became Ottawa’s all time leading scorer for defensemen, breaking Wade Redden’s record. Karlsson now has 411 career points. At age 26, he should be able to put plenty of distance between himself and Redden.

Karlsson is also tied with five other players for 4th in scoring in the league with 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists). He’s tied with a virtual Who’s Who of talent. The others are Sydney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Tyler Seguin, Phil Kessel, and Vladimir Tarasenko.

Here’s the highlight reel from the game. We’ll point out that the acquisition of backup goalie Mike Condon, picked up in a trade earlier this season from Pittsburgh, has turned out to be a great move. Condon, who got the victory, is 4-1-1 with a 1.77 goals against average.

The Senators continue their California tour with games at Los Angeles December 10th and Anaheim December 11th, before returning home to play the Sharks there on December 14th.