Theres virtually no doubt that if the NHL season ended today, the runaway winner of the Norris Trophy as the leagues best defenseman would be the Capitals John Carlson. The 29-year-old is way out in front of the pack with 40 points in just 29 games, a dozen more than Carolinas Dougie Hamilton, whos second.

Carlson had another productive game on Tuesday night at SAP Center against the Sharks. Skating a team-high 22 minutes and 34 seconds, Carlson assisted on Washingtons first two goals, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead, and then hammered in one of his own at 16:32 of the opening frame to make it 3-1. The 20-4-5 Capitals cruised from there, winning 5-2 against an overmatched Sharks team that was made to look foolish in its defensive zone, in particular.

The Sharks, of course, are supposed to have a pair of Norris Trophy candidates themselves. Erik Karlsson, a two-time winner in 2012 and 2015, and Brent Burns, who won in it...

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Sharks' Brent Burns and Radim Simek still searching for the chemistry they had last season - The Athletic