Is Erik Karlsson The Best Player In Hockey Right Now? He Just Might Be.

If someone would have said prior to the start of the 2025-26 season that the Pittsburgh Penguins would be playing a large chunk of their second half without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, many would have drawn the conclusion that the season was going even worse than expected for them. And outside expectations certainly weren’t very high to begin with.

In fact, even with Crosby and Malkin, most didn’t expect the Penguins to be talking about potential first-round playoff matchups in late-March, let alone without their star forwards. But, here they are at second in the Metropolitan Division, and they’ve almost managed to make it through the toughest month of their entire schedule – and the toughest strength of schedule in the NHL – largely without at least one of them in the lineup.

And there have been many players who have stepped up in the absence of 87 and 71. Rickard Rakell has taken on first-line center duties and has seven goals and 15 points in the 16 games since the Olympic break – including six goals and 14 points in his last 11. Bryan Rust has seven goals and 19 points in those 16 games. Anthony Mantha has six goals and 11 points. Egor Chinakhov has six goals and 14 points.

Even goaltenders Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner – despite some inconsistencies from both since the break – have done enough in a general sense to help keep the Penguins afloat and have come up with some big saves in big moments.

But there is one player who has carried this team on his back, and he’s separated himself as this team’s MVP in not only this stretch, but arguably, for the entire season.

And that would be Erik Karlsson.

Karlsson, 35, was acquired by the Penguins in the summer of 2023 – GM and POHO Kyle Dubas’s first summer with the organization – and his first two seasons in Pittsburgh, even if they weren’t bad ones, were a bit underwhelming. And this is, especially, considering the fact that he was coming off an historic 29-goal, 101-point Norris Trophy campaign with the San Jose Sharks, which was the third of his hall-of-fame career.

Takeaways: Several Penguins Step Up, Seize Two Points Against Ottawa Senators Despite Crosby Injury

Takeaways: Several Penguins Step Up, Seize Two Points Against Ottawa Senators Despite Crosby Injury Even with captain Sidney Crosby exiting early in the second period, the Pittsburgh Penguins found a way to outlast the Ottawa Senators through a shootout, beating them 4-3 and securing a massive two points.

This season, however, the best version of Karlsson has re-emerged. And not only is he leading the charge to get this Penguins’ team to the playoffs for the first time in four years – and the first time during his tenure in Pittsburgh – he’s also, arguably, the best player in hockey during this playoff stretch run.

Karlsson is tied for second in the NHL in points (21) since Mar. 1, and he is tied for second in the NHL in goals since Mar. 16 (six). And the crazy thing is that the only NHL defensemen within spitting distance are Buffalo Sabres’ blueliner Rasmus Dahlin and Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers, who each have 15 points since Mar. 1 and are 27th and 28th in the league since then.

These are elite forward numbers that Karlsson – a defenseman – is putting up. For the past month, his name has been up there with the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Martin Necas, Jack Hughes, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid. And it’s not as if he’s sacrificing defense to create offense, either, as Karlsson is playing one of the very best defensive seasons of his NHL career.

There is little debate that Karlsson is the very best player in the league right now. He is not just putting up elite, forward-level production game-in and game-out, and he is not just a product of what’s happening around him. He has been, far and away, the best Penguins’ player in the last month, and even if the players mentioned above are contributing to the cause, guys like Kucherov and Necas – the only guys who have more points than he does in March – have the benefit of other players like Jake Guentzel and MacKinnon, respectively, helping them lead their teams to comfortable playoff berths.

The Penguins are anything but comfortable. Although they completely control their own destiny, two points separate them and the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They are fighting for their playoff lives and continuously fending off teams below them in the standings, and they are doing it without Crosby and Malkin.

And that push, that fight, has been led by Karlsson. He is the x-factor. He is the difference-maker. He is the best player on the ice in nearly every single game at this point, carrying his team on his back and leading by example and by proxy.

Simply put, the Penguins would not be in a playoff spot right now if not for Karlsson. He is playing some of the best hockey of his entire 17-year NHL career, and his unparalleled contributions have not gone unnoticed by his teammates.

Report: Penguins’ GM Dubas Has No Plans To Trade Karlsson This Offseason Much of the conjecture around the Pittsburgh Penguins has changed over the course of the 2025-26 season, as the team’s playoff-hopeful performance has shifted them from sure sellers trying to collect every possible asset to a team that is, perhaps, beginning to come out of the lowest point of their rebuild.

“He’s doing so much for us,” Rakell said. “And it’s not just scoring goals. It’s the way he breaks out pucks and keeping a close cap on their entries and just dictating the game. Then, obviously, everybody knows his game. When he’s confident, he’s one of the best defensemen in our league still. He shows that he can do it all.”

If the Penguins make the playoffs – and, especially, if they play a good chunk of these next 10 games without 87 and 71 and still manage to make it – Karlsson deserves an enormous amount of credit for that. He also deserves to talk a potential contract extension with Dubas and the gang this summer.

And when the calendar month of March concludes, Karlsson should certainly be recognized as the NHL’s first star since there has been no one better in hockey on both an individual basis and in terms of dragging his hobbled team to the postseason.

BREAKING: Sidney Crosby Exits Game Against Ottawa Senators With Lower-Body Injury Sidney Crosby was injured and did not return in a standings-critical matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

Bookmark THN – Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!

Read the full article here