For confirmation purposes, Erik Karlsson will be in Ottawa's lineup on Thursday night after missing one game with an upper-body. The Senators were adamant that the injury wasn't serious, but his absence from practice on Wednesday did raise some eyebrows after he sat out Tuesday's contest following an injury in the warmup. Get the offensive defenseman back in your fantasy lineup. Matt Carkner is expected to be a healthy scratch to make room for Karlsson's return.

Coach Paul MacLean stuck by his original expectation on Wednesday that Erik Karlsson (upper body) will be available to play on Thursday night despite missing Wednesday's practice. "I think it was just something in his preparation, whether it was playing soccer or getting manipulated or whatever he was doing in his pre-game routine, but I don't know exactly what it was," said MacLean. "Erik should be fine. We just want to make sure." Karlsson was held out of Tuesday's contest in Pittsburgh as a precaution after he tweaked something while warming up.

Erik Karlsson's upper-body injury isn't believed to be serious and coach Paul MacLean said the offensive defender sat out Tuesday's contest as a precaution. "We were just making sure we did things the right way and we're expecting that he'll be fine for the game in New York," said MacLean referring to Thursday night's match-up. "It was just something that he tweaked during his warmup getting ready for the game. It is something that can be easily handled and it is our expectation that hell be ready to play." We'll keep you posted, but get ready to have him active versus the Rangers.

Erik Karlsson was a late scratch on Tuesday with an upper body injury. Karlsson partook in the morning practice and pre-game skate but it was decided that he would not play. Matt Carkner, who was slated to be a healthy scratch, took his place in the Ottawa lineup. Consider Karlsson, who leads all defensemen with 41 points this season, to be day-to-day.

Erik Karlsson is enjoying his best season as a pro in 2011-12. He recorded 13 goals and 45 points during his sophomore year last season and already has 41 points after 43 games this campaign. Another encouraging aspect to his play is his vastly improved plus-minus rating, which currently sits at a plus-7. Karlsson was criticized a year ago for his brutal minus-30 rating and while there are still wrinkles in his defensive game, there clearly has been an improvement. The 21-year-old blueliner leads all NHL rearguards in points and his wealth of potential leads onlookers to believe he can carry on that feat for years to come.

The Ottawa Senators' come-from-behind win against the Philadelphia Flyers was highlighted by another great output from defenseman Erik Karlsson. Karlsson had a goal and an assist along with a stunning +5 rating in the game as Ottawa turned a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 victory against Philly. Daniel Alfredsson, Nick Foligno and Chris Neil also had one goal and one assist each in the game.

Erik Karlsson is on pace to set two Ottawa scoring records. Both are held by Norm MacIver. The first is most assists in a season by a rearguard. MacIver holds the mark with 46. After 42 games thus far, Karlsson has registered 34 helpers. The second, is most points in a season by a defenceman. MacIver's total was 63. Karlsson now has 39 points. The young Swede is certainly having a magical campaign and he is clearly establishing himself as one of the NHL's best young blueliners.

The Senators are hoping that Erik Karlsson gets some consideration for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the NHL's top defenseman. He is almost at a point-per-game pace (37 points in 40 games) and has a six-point lead over second-place Brian Campbell in defenseman scoring. Karlsson, who is only 21, may have to wait a little longer for Norris accolades despite his breakout campaign as voters tend to be conservative. No matter, Karlsson is having a monster fantasy campaign.

Erik Karlsson got two more assists on Monday. Karlsson now has 32 assists and 37 points in 40 games. He's opened up a six-point lead on Brian Campbell, who currently ranks second in the blueliners point scoring race. Karlsson has matched his previous career-high in assists with 42 games to go, and he should have no problem also shattering his previous career-high of 45 points in a single season.

Erik Karlsson became the first blueliner to reach the 30 assist mark on Friday. Only 29 defensemen in total ended up with 30 assists last season, but Karlsson didn't even need half a season to achieve that feat. Karlsson is also leading all defenseman with 35 points in 38 games. If Karlsson can maintain this pace, he'll become just the fourth blueliner to reach the 70-point mark in a single season since the lockout. The other three are Mike Green, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Sergei Zubov.