The Noon Number: Blue Chip Blueliner

70 - Number of points earned by John Carlson this season, topping his previous career high of 68 (set last season). Carlson is one of just four defensemen to top that total this year, and one of just nine defensemen to have reached 70 points since 2005-06. His assist total also puts him in elite company, not only in the last 10-15 years - where he joins eight other defensemen to have at least 57 assists in a single season - but overall, as fewer than 100 blueliners in NHL history have ever hit that mark.

Carlson’s 70-point campaign moves him into seventh all-time among Caps defensemen, pushing his 2017-18 total down to eighth, and his 57 assists tie Mike Green for fourth-most by a blueliner in franchise history... with two games remaining.