EK65 makes history with wild record in Sharks’ loss to Panthers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Erik Karlsson wants some respect put on his name.
The Sharks’ season isn’t a month old and the veteran defenseman already has 10 goals in the 2022-23 NHL season, which came in the 4-3 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday at SAP Center.
Karlsson came off his first career hat trick in the 6-5 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks and followed up that performance by making history against the Panthers.
After tying the game 2-2, Karlsson became the first defenseman to score 10 goals in his first 13 team games in a season, a post-WWII NHL record.
While Karlsson continues his hot start to the 2022-23 NHL season, Timo Meier has put together a good stretch of games, scoring four goals in his last four contests for San Jose. The veteran defenseman is the engine for the Sharks’ offense, but he’s receiving help.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t enough for San Jose to get both points, as the Sharks could not hold the lead, with Carter Verhaeghe scoring late in the third period forcing overtime and then the shootout, where David Quinn’s team fell and pushed their record to 3-8-2.
As a result, it’s hard for Karlsson to enjoy his great start this season, telling reporters after the loss that he’ll enjoy these records “when I’m 50 years old, I’ll look back and I’ll be happy about it” (h/t San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng).
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San Jose will welcome the Ducks back on Saturday for their second meeting in five days at SAP Center.
