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After returning from a severed Achilles in 10 weeks, it seemed like Erik Karlsson was from some other planet. However, a costly turnover during Ottawa's 3-1 loss to Montreal in Game 2 proved that he’s still very much human.
Skating back into his own end and under pressure, Karlsson attempted to flip the puck across the Senators' net to Marc Methot while on his backhand. Instead, the puck was tapped out of midair by Montreal's Ryan White and deflected between Craig Anderson’s legs for the game’s first goal.
It was a pretty bad mistake, but as a skilled offensive defenseman, Karlsson is going to take risks from time to time. It was one of those plays that could have been avoided with a better decision. So how did Karlsson feel about it his mistake?
Giveaway? Yes, it happens. I am who i am and will never change that. Peace.
— Erik Karlsson (@ErikKarlsson65) May 4, 2013
No one would want to see Karlsson change the way he plays, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that his giveaway to White was egregious. It’s one thing to take risks for the sake of offense, but making that play in such close proximity to his own net was careless.
While Karlsson deserves credit for owning up to the mistake and shaking it off, he also needs to learn from it. The reigning Norris Trophy winner wouldn’t want to have something like that happen during overtime of a Game 7 after all. Peace.
