John Carlson scored one of the biggest goals of the Washington Capitals’ 2023-24 season in the team’s 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Saturday.
Carlson found the back of the net during a 5-on-4 power play, giving the Capitals a 3-2 lead with 11:31 remaining in the third period.
Not only did Carlson’s tally serve as the game-winner, but it also made him the Capitals’ franchise leader in goals scored by a defenseman. The marker also pushed the Capitals back into the second wild card spot in the East.
The goal was Carlson’s ninth of the season and the 150th of his Capitals’ career passing Kevin Hatcher (149) for first all-time.
John Carlson scores his ninth goal of the season on the power play to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead in the third period. It marks Carlson's 150th career goal, moving him past Kevin Hatcher (149) for the most goals by a defenseman in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/RYVOaSwVbn
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 14, 2024
“Yeah that’s cool,” Carlson said. “I’m just worried about battling to get in the playoffs. It’s cool to have the record too and all, but you know, just excited for the team here.”
Carlson scored after aggressively jumping into the play as he is wont to do. The veteran blueliner took a cross-ice feed from Dylan Strome and beat Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy short-side to the top corner.
He celebrated by jumping into the glass like Alex Ovechkin (but with slightly less enthusiasm).
After the game, Carlson held up the milestone puck and posed with Strome and Tom Wilson — the two assist men on the tally.
The Capitals also posted a tribute video.
Per Capitals PR, Carlson is now the franchise leader in games played (1,007), goals (150), assists (523), points (673), game-winning goals (31) and power-play points (249).
Carlson skated a team-high 27:25 in the victory, firing five shots on net and registering three bodychecks.
