The Washington Capitals fell 4-3 to the Buffalo Sabres Monday night, but they still had something to celebrate beyond their single standings point on the road. John Carlson recorded a two-point game in the shootout loss to score the 699th and 700th points of his NHL career.
With two assists against the Sabres, Carlson became just the 31st defenseman in NHL history to hit the 700-point milestone and the only one to do so as a member of the Capitals.
“Seems like it took a while,” Carlson said with a chuckle postgame. “But yeah, it’s a big accomplishment, I think personally. Been lucky enough to play on a great team my whole career and with fantastic players. Couldn’t have dreamt of it as a kid, so it’s pretty special.”
The Capitals announced they will honor the milestone during a pregame ceremony on Sunday, February 9, before facing the Utah Hockey Club.
Carlson’s first point Monday night came midway through the second period as Wilson tied the game 2-2. After Carlson played keep away with an oncoming Dylan Cozens, Aliaksei Protas shot the loose puck at Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen before Wilson scored on the rebound.
In the final minutes of in regulation, Carlson earned another assist after he dished the puck to Protas in the crease to help push the game to overtime, though he was unable to seal a win when head coach Spencer Carbery deployed him in the third round of the shootout.
Carlson now has five multi-point games this season, including two against Buffalo, and ranks second among Caps defensemen in scoring this season, with 26 points (3g, 23a) in 40 games.
Of the 31 blueliners to reach the 700-point threshold, just 13 of them have done it for a single organization.
NHL defensemen who have registered 700 points with a single franchise
| Name | Team | Years | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Bourque | BOS | 1979-2000 | 1518 | 395 | 1111 | 1506 |
| Nicklas Lidstrom | DET | 1991-2012 | 1564 | 264 | 878 | 1142 |
| Denis Potvin | NYI | 1973-1988 | 1060 | 310 | 742 | 1052 |
| Brian Leetch | NYR | 1987-2004 | 1129 | 240 | 741 | 981 |
| Bobby Orr | BOS | 1966-1976 | 631 | 264 | 624 | 888 |
| Larry Robinson | MTL | 1972-1989 | 1202 | 197 | 686 | 883 |
| Al MacInnis | CGY | 1981-1994 | 803 | 213 | 609 | 822 |
| Doug Wilson | CHI | 1977-1991 | 938 | 225 | 554 | 779 |
| Borje Salming | TOR | 1973-1989 | 1099 | 148 | 620 | 768 |
| Kris Letang | PIT | 2006-2025 | 1122 | 173 | 585 | 758 |
| Victor Hedman | TBL | 2009-2025 | 1087 | 161 | 596 | 757 |
| Roman Josi | NSH | 2011-2025 | 945 | 188 | 523 | 711 |
| John Carlson | WSH | 2009-2025 | 1048 | 154 | 544 | 698 |
Though Carlson often shirks attention and his achievements may not be as flashy as some of his teammates’, Tom Wilson highlighted just how much he’s meant to the club.
“I didn’t even know that,” Wilson said when told of the milestone. “He’s a guy that puts his head down and goes to work and never is, ‘Woe is me.’ He’s just been a horse for us for so long and a leader in this room. Pretty impressive career, what he’s been able to put together, and I know everyone in this room looks up to him.
“He’s never a guy to announce anything, so I’m happy for him…There may be a couple of guys in this organization that are ahead of him as far as impressive accomplishments, but Johnny’s been a guy in Washington for a long time that’s next level. He’s a heck of a player, so he’s going to keep going.”
Carlson has racked up a series of milestones in the last 12 months: he played his 1000th game last March and set a franchise record for goals by a defenseman when he scored his 150th goal last April. Now in his 16th NHL season, he also leads all franchise defensemen in career games played (1,049), assists (546), and points (700). Now, he has yet another feather in his cap.
“Just speaks to another accolade for John and what he’s accomplished in his career,” said Carbery. “He just keeps stacking those things up for — another credit to how impressive his career has been.”
Here’s the full press release from the Capitals:
John Carlson Records 700th Career Point
Carlson, the franchise’s all-time leader in games played, goals, assists and points among defensemen, will be honored during a pre-game ceremony on Feb. 9
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Capitals alternate captain John Carlson recorded his 700th career point Monday against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center, becoming the 31st defensemen in NHL history to reach the 700-point mark and the sixth active defensemen, joining Brent Burns (894), Erik Karlsson (845), Kris Letang (758), Victor Hedman (757) and Roman Josi (711). Additionally, Carlson is the 13th defensemen in NHL history to record 700 points with one franchise.
Carlson (154g, 546a) recorded his 700th point in his 1,049th career game and is the 25th blueliner to reach the milestone in fewer than 1,050 games. Carlson’s 546 assists are the seventh most by a defenseman at the time of their 700th point, trailing only Borje Salming (561), Dave Babych (560), Sergei Zubov (559), Chris Chelios (552), Victor Hedman (550) and Scott Stevens (547). Among the 25 defensemen with 700 career points who are eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame, 20 have been inducted.
Carlson, who is in his 16th season with Washington, is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played (1,049), goals (154), assists (546) and points (700) among defensemen. Among all skaters, Carlson ranks third in Capitals history in assists and plus-minus (+100) and fifth in points. The Capitals have a record of 599-324-126 (.631 point percentage) with Carlson in the lineup since his NHL debut on Nov. 20, 2009 and a 352-112-51 record (.733 point percentage) when he records a point.
This season, Carlson has recorded 26 points (3g, 23a) in 40 games.
The Capitals will hold a pre-game ceremony on Sunday, February 9 prior to hosting the Utah Hockey Club to honor the milestone. During the ceremony, Carlson will receive a special gift from the organization.
Carlson won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018, where he led all defensemen in playoff scoring with 20 points (5g, 15a) in 24 games, including four points (2g, 2a) in five Stanley Cup Final games. Carlson is Washington’s all-time leader in playoff games played (127), goals (20), assists (55) and points (75) among defensemen.
Carlson, who was selected by the Capitals with 27th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, is the third defenseman from his draft class to reach the 700-point mark (Erik Karlsson: 845; Roman Josi: 711). Among defensemen from his draft class, Carlson ranks second in assists, third in points and power-play points (259) and fourth in goals.
In addition, Carlson is the seventh U.S.-born defensemen to record 700 career points. The Natick, Massachusetts native represented the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. In addition, Carlson scored the gold-medal clinching goal in overtime for Team USA versus Canada at the 2010 World Junior Championship and was named to the tournament’s All-Star Team.
A two-time NHL All-Star, Carlson was named to the 2019-20 NHL First All-Star Team, the 2018-19 NHL Second All-Star Team and the 2010-2011 NHL All-Rookie Team. Carlson also won back-to-back Calder Cup championships with the AHL’s Hershey Bears in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
