The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered a crushing defeat against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, March 22. The team was unable to play to their potential and managed to score only one goal which came in the third period.
Following the game, defenseman Erik Karlsson weighed in on the side’s performance claiming that only one player stood out, goalie Stuart Skinner.
Skinner has been in terrific form in recent games. In the game against the Hurricanes, he made 21 saves while facing 25 shots with a save percentage of .840. Erik Karlsson praised his team’s goaltender, noting he brought a high level of energy to the ice that the rest of the squad couldn’t match.
According to an X post by Pens Inside Scoop, Karlsson stated,
“I think he was good for us. … We didn’t really bring any energy in front of him. I think he was the only one who battled hard all game. We’ve been getting that consistently from all our goalies that have been in the net this year.”
In 64 games so far played this season, Erik Karlsson has recorded 43 assists and 11 goals. While the numbers are decent, they still don’t meet the team’s expectations for the defenseman. Due to this, Karlsson was even expected to be traded by the Penguins when ahead of the trade deadline, but eventually did not come to fruition.
While trade rumors about Karlsson persist, there is conjecture that the team may move on from him this offseason.
Erik Karlsson making a case for his NHL future
Erik Karlsson was acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins shortly before the 2023-24 season in a three-team trade with the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens. With this deal, the Penguins became Karlsson’s third team in the NHL, and while the veteran defenseman didn’t quite lived up to the lofty expectations of him post the trade, he’s been rolling back the years in recent games.
With six goals over his last six games along with three-straight three-point games on the road, Karlsson is finally justifying his worth to the Penguins faithful. With seven multi-point games over his last 10 outings, it’ll be interesting to see how the Penguins deal with the veteran come offseason.
The Penguins are currently second in the Metropolitan Division with 88 points and in a strong position to qualify for the postseason. With 10 games remaining, Pittsburgh will take on the high-flying Dallas Stars next in hopes of further cementing their position as playoff contenders.
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