Karlsson WILL play tonight

I wrote an article on Monday saying that Erik Karlsson would not play. But this time… HE’S BACK!

Miraculously after getting 70% of his left Achilles tendon severed by Matt Cooke’s skate on February 13th, he will return tonight with two games left in the regular season. Original diagnosis had him missing 4-6 months… Well Karlsson must have laughed when he heard that because he is back just TEN weeks later.

His return could not have come at a better time for the Ottawa Senators. They are slipping in the Eastern Conference standings and could fall completely out of the playoffs. Their power-play is 20th best in the NHL and has been dreadful as of late. If you had a bad power-play and you had one wish… Your wish would definitely be “I wish to have Erik Karlsson on my team.” He is the most dynamic offensive-defenseman in the NHL and should step in and produce immediately.

In the 14 games Karlsson appeared in this season he averaged 27:06 time on ice a night. Even though this guy is coming off of a horrible injury, there is no reason not to expect him to play 25-plus minutes tonight. He had six goals, four assists and was a spectacular plus-6 before getting hurt. He will play on the Sens top pair with Marc Methot and will be on the point with Sergei Gonchar on their top power-play unit.

If you were on the ball and picked him up in a daily league… Get him in your lineup tonight!