Karlsson having ‘great experience’ in 1st season with Penguins

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Erik Karlsson hasn’t taken his first season with the Pittsburgh Penguins for granted.

In his 15th NHL season, the 33-year-old leads Pittsburgh defensemen with 28 points (seven goals, 21 assists) in 39 games, including five (one goal, four assists) on a four-game point streak entering a matchup against the Vancouver Canucks at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, SNP, SNO, SNE).

"It's been a great experience for me,” Karlsson said Wednesday, “coming in here and joining such an exclusive club that they have here, I think, with the people that they've had here for a period of time and what they've gone through, and what they've accomplished.

“So for me, I think it's just fun to be able to be a part of that and hear their thoughts and things that I haven't heard before. At the same time, being able to share the experiences that I've had.”

Karlsson was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in a three-team trade also involving the Montreal Canadiens on Aug. 6 after winning the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman with 101 points (25 goals, 76 assists) last season.

He has 789 points (185 goals, 604 assists) in 959 career games.

With an assist on Jan. 6, Karlsson passed Borje Salming for the second-most points by a Sweden-born defenseman (787 points; 150 goals, 637 assists), behind Nicklas Lidstrom (1,142 points; 264 goals, 878 assists). He scored in a 4-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday to end an 18-game goal drought.

"I think it's been fairly consistent throughout the year,” Karlsson said of his season. “Obviously, certain situations are easier to handle. We've been at it for a while, becoming a little bit more automatic as a team, as a whole. I think we've played better for the last four or five weeks. That helps each and every individual in here to feel better about themselves.

“So I'm excited for the rest of the stretch here. We're starting to see a little bit on how things are rounding out, where we're standing and what you need to accomplish to reach the goal that we're here to do."

Karlsson has adjusted. Routinely listed on the second defense pair, he has averaged 24:22 of ice time, second on the Penguins to fellow defenseman Kris Letang (24:36) and down from 25:37 with the Sharks last season.

Letang has 26 points (three goals, 23 assists) this season, including nine (one goal, eight assists) in two games on Dec. 23 and 27. He became the first defenseman in League history with at least five points in one period on Dec. 27, finishing a 7-0 win against the New York Islanders with six assists.

With that dynamic, the Penguins (20-15-4) are 9-3-1 since Dec. 12.

"It's been great, to be honest. We knew right away when he came,” Letang said. “We knew each other from previous events, All-Star Games. We kind of kept in touch, also, afterward. Coming into the room, I knew what to expect. I knew what kind of player he was and what kind of guy he was. It's been easy."

Letang, like Karlsson, has sacrificed.

Karlsson claimed Letang’s spot at the point on the first power-play unit. In training camp, Pittsburgh experimented with Letang at the left flank before dropping him to the point on the second unit.

Letang has averaged 1:43 on power play this season, down from 3:37 last season.

“It's just ice time, at the end of the day,” Letang said. “We're going to end up spending 25 minutes each on the ice and we have to be able to make the most of it and make sure we bring success to this team."

Karlsson and Letang made it possible, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

“We recognize and acknowledge that when you have two players of that ilk, elite defensemen that play in key situations, they're going to have to share the workload,” Sullivan said. “I think those guys have done a terrific job making those sacrifices and sharing that workload. As I said to them before the season even started, if we can make this work, we have two elite defensemen that, one of you, is going to be on the ice 50 out of the 60 minutes, more than likely. That gives the Penguins a much better chance to win games.

“I think those guys have done a terrific job at putting the team first and trying to do what they can and sharing that workload to help us have success as a group. I think that takes a certain maturity, it takes a certain level of humility, to accept that.

For Karlsson, there’s a singular focus. He wants to win the Stanley Cup for the first time.

Letang, now in his 18th season with Pittsburgh, did it in 2009, 2016 and 2017. Karlsson can see why.

“It's been a great journey so far and I'm excited to move it forward,” Karlsson said. “Figuring out exactly what it takes to win a championship. We're doing that together here."