John Carlson misses 1st game after 412 straight appearances

Washingon Capitals defenseman John Carlson has finally gotten his due in recent years after being underrated for some time. He skates well, has offensive pop and plays a lot of minutes – not just on a nightly basis, but seasonally. 

Since 2010, when he became a regular for the Capitals, Carlson has played 410 straight games. Factor in the two straight he played as a rookie, and it’s 412 straight games for Carlson.

Alas, the streak ends on Monday night as Washington visits the Buffalo Sabres. It’s due to a lower-body injury Carlson suffered in the Capitals’ win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. Carlson played 25:11 in that game.

It’s a shame, because Carlson was just 10 games away from matching Bobby Carpenter’s franchise record of 422. But there is another: Defenseman Karl Alzner of the Capitals has a streak of 410 games that will extend to 411 tonight.

The fact that Carlson and Alzner have played that consistently is a bit incredible. As Chuck Gormley of CSN Mid-Atlantic wrote:

“Carlson and Alzner have played in every game since the 2010-11 season and rank second and fourth in the NHL in blocked shots during that span.”

Andrew Cogliano of the Anaheim Ducks has the longest current Iron Man streak in the NHL at 653 games, which began at the start of his career. 

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.