Ottawa's Karlsson earns raves from Wild

OTTAWA – Bryan Murray felt Erik Karlsson would be a star, so in the first round of the 2008 NHL draft in front of the hometown Senators fans, the Ottawa general manager traded the 18th pick and a third-rounder to the Nashville Predators to move up three slots to take the Swedish defenseman.

The leapfrogging to get Karlsson has paid immense dividends and was the player every Wild player mentioned Tuesday as they prepared to face the Senators.

It turned out they were right to fear him. He scored a goal and had two assists, including the overtime winner with 31 seconds left, to lift the Senators to a 3-2 victory.

There are a handful of dynamic defensemen in the NHL — Drew Doughty and P.K. Subban come to mind, as does Brent Burns, who has 26 goals, but the numbers Karlsson continues to put up are reaching historic proportions.

Karlsson, 25, the Senators captain, has 73 points in 71 games — five short of his career high. In the past 20 years, only four defensemen have averaged a point a game in a season (Brian Leetch, 1.04, 1995-96; Mike Green, 1.01, 1999-00; Ray Bourque, 1.00, 1995-96; Nicklas Lidstrom, 1.00, 2005-06).

In a day and age of defensive structure, the two-time Norris Trophy winner is running away with the defensemen scoring race for the fourth time in five years.

"He's special," Wild defenseman Matt Dumba said before the game. "Just watching some of the video, it's crazy what he does out there."

Karlsson blows away his teammates with his explosive speed and skill.

"For a young guy like myself that breaks into the league and you go from being a fan to being a part of the organization to then playing with your idols, Erik's a world-class player and I can't believe he's my teammate and friend," said Curtis Lazar, a 21-year-old, second-year Senators center. "Watching his skill set in practice, his acceleration and speed, it boggles your mind each and every time you see it.

"He motivates you to get better because he makes it look effortless out there. He's the motor behind our team. I mean, he's on the ice in every situation. I remember playing Tampa Bay this season, we lost two defensemen early and it's like he never left the ice, yet he's in the dressing room not even sucking wind because it was just another game for him."

With two goals by Mikael Granlund and an empty-net goal by Erik Haula on Saturday in Montreal, the Wild tied Chicago and Florida for most 10-plus goal scorers in the NHL (11).

One 10-goal scorer that coach John Torchetti hopes to reignite is Jason Zucker, who has 12 goals, but only one in his past 21 games.

Zucker was scratched for a second consecutive game Tuesday. Torchetti noted how the Wild needed to get proven goal scorers Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville going when he took over as coach and "now we have to get other guys, like when we get Zucker back in, we have to get him going, because he can be a big asset for us moving forward."

• Pominville missed his third game in a row because of a lower-body injury. He's doubtful to play Thursday in New Jersey. Winger Chris Porter and defenseman Mike Reilly were scratched for a second consecutive game.

• After the Wild practices in Newark, N.J., on Wednesday, Dumba and goalie Devan Dubnyk are scheduled to be on NHL Network where they will take batting practice on the Major League Baseball Network set. NHL Network shares MLB Network's studio in Secaucus, N.J.

• Wild winger Nino Niederreiter is penning a Player's Tribune piece.