CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Erik Karlsson had expectations for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The defenseman played against them 48 times, 33 in the regular season and 15 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, before the Penguins acquired him from the San Jose Sharks in a three-team trade involving the Montreal Canadiens on Aug. 6, 2023.
At the time, Karlsson said it provided his best chance at winning the Stanley Cup, something that had eluded him in nine seasons with the Ottawa Senators and another five with the Sharks.
In his 15th season, the 33-year-old is on a team that has scored 149 goals in 52 games, an average of 2.87 that ranks 26th in the NHL. It doesn't add up with what Karlsson observed from Penguins of the past.
“Not anything I've seen in my lifetime,” he said Monday.
Pittsburgh (24-21-7) is seventh in the Metropolitan Division, nine points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. It's in danger of failing to qualify for a second straight season after losing four of five entering a matchup with the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, MSGSN, SNW, SNO, SNE, SN1, TVAS).
"That's what we're in right now,” Karlsson said. “I think we're playing some good hockey, especially defensively, which was obviously a main focus for us at the start of the year. Now we just have to find that balance that I know that we have in here, where we are a dangerous team.
“We can create a lot and score a lot of goals as well and, simultaneously, play good defense. That's what we're trying to get to right now.”