OTTAWA - All Erik Karlsson did last season was lead NHL defencemen in scoring by 25 points.
This year, he could wind up being the top scoring blue-liner in two leagues.
Yup, a pair of scoring titles in the same season.
It's probably safe to say that's never been done before, right?
Karlsson, who played 30 games for Jokerit in Finland's SM-Liiga during the lockout, has what looks to be an insurmountable lead among all defencemen in one of Europe's strongest loops. The 34 points he amassed before Christmas remains 11 more than Teemu Aalto has in 49 games for Tappara Tampere.
Aalto has only 11 more games to make up the difference.
Now, the fourth-year Senator is no lock to repeat as the NHL's top scoring rearguard in this shortened season. But few would bet against him, either.
