Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks has been getting most of the attention when it comes to offensively gifted defensemen this season, but don't forget about Erik Karlsson.
The Ottawa Senators blue-liner collected a pair of assists in Sunday's loss to the Winnipeg Jets, giving him 42 helpers and 51 points in 57 games.
It's the fifth time Karlsson has hit the 50-point mark in a single season in his eight-year career, a feat that appears to be unmatched among his peers.
Erik Karlsson has reached the 50-point plateau for the fifth time. He's the only active defenseman to do that.
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) February 19, 2017
Burns tied his career high of 27 goals that he set last season with two markers Saturday night against the Arizona Coyotes, and he leads all defensemen this season in goals and points with 63 in the latter category.
The Sharks rearguard is stating his case to win the Norris Trophy for the first time, and he's gone over 50 points in each of the last three seasons, but Karlsson, a two-time Norris recipient, isn't going away quietly in 2016-17.
He's logging over two minutes of average ice time more than Burns, ranking fifth in the NHL at 26:54.
Karlsson's production amid a consistently heavy workload is impressive enough, and then you remember he's only 26 years old.
Not too shabby for the Swedish superstar.
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