John Carlson reaches Capitals milestone in return from injury

Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson reached a franchise milestone in his return after missing six games with a lower-body injury. Carlson picked up the primary assist on Sonny Milano’s epic first goal in a Capitals inform in the second period of Friday’s 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With the assist, Carlson, who has played his entire career with the Capitals, became the fifth player in franchise history to record 600 points. In doing so, he also surpassed Michal Pivonka (599) for fifth all-time on the Capitals’ point list.

Carlson pushed the puck to Milano, who just jumped out of the penalty box before Milano deposited the puck in the net to extend Washington’s lead to 2-0. Milano served the five-minute penalty for Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who got ejected from the game for his hit to the head of Lightning defenseman Cal Foote.

“I knew he was coming out. I didn’t know how quick it was gonna be,” Carlson said of his pass to Milano, per Samantha Pell of the Washington Post. “It worked out well. The puck jumped over my stick and turned that way, and gave it a little extra juice just in case to get it out of the zone first off because I was tired but worked out perfect.”

Carlson last played on Oct. 29. He fell awkwardly in the corner of the defensive zone against Nashville and ultimately exited the game. He sat out the next six games. The Capitals went 1-3-2 with Carlson sidelined.

Carlson is in his 14th season with the Capitals. He was integral in the team claiming its lone Stanley Cup championship in 2018. Many widely consider him the best Capitals defenseman of all time.