Ottawa Senators Defenceman Erik Karlsson Won't be Ready for Playoffs

Erik Karlsson, who has not seen a game with the Ottawa Senators since his Achilles tendon was cut by Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 13, spoke during the first intermission of the Sens game on Monday regarding his condition.

“It’s going well… baby steps, but overall it’s been feeling pretty good ever since it happened and I can feel it’s going forward.”

On the question of whether or not he will be skating again, Karlsson had this to say: “I think I’m on schedule. Every day is different and we are where we are right now and there’s been no real setbacks or anything like that so it’s going forward all the time. It’s just going to take a lot of time and a lot of patience to get 100 per cent again.”

When the 22-year-old was asked if there was a chance he would return for this season’s playoffs, he didn’t say no, but also said that they are not projecting for this year either.

“Obviously the guys have been playing great and obviously that helps my motivation as well and keeps me going forward and looking forward to going into the playoffs and if that time comes it will be a decision by them, but right now we don’t really aim for playing this year.”

Karlsson admits the change of pace his life has taken since the injury.

“It’s been five weeks already… It obviously helps that we’re playing well and we play almost every night so there’s always something to watch and look forward to. It’s a different kind of life, but so far it’s been treating me well.”