Screenshot: @anaheimducks/IG
John Carlson scored the first goal of his hockey career not with the Washington Capitals.
In the Anaheim Ducks’ wild 5-4 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Carlson lit the lamp 11:33 into the second period, tallying his eleventh goal of the season.
Carlson found the back of the net shorthanded after taking a back pass from Jackson LaCombe. The former Capitals defenseman then skated into open space, where he cradled the puck before firing a shot past Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
Beckett Sennecke, a 20-year-old rookie forward, picked up the milestone goal puck.
The tally put the Ducks up 3-1, but the team surrendered four of the next five goals to the Leafs, earning just a single standings point, an overtime loss, in the game.
“We got to be more mature and come out on top of these games when we’re coming down the stretch,” Carlson said. “We’re running out of real estate to both collect as many points as we can and also feel good about how we’re playing.”
Carlson, who was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week on Monday, now has nine points in eight games with the Ducks. He’s currently on a four-game point streak, notching one goal and seven assists during that span.
Before tonight’s game, Carlson scored his previous 166 goals with the Capitals — a franchise record for defensemen — after spending the previous 17 seasons in DC.