Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 | 4:05 p.m.
After missing the entirety of the preseason and the first eight games of the regular season with an undisclosed injury, center William Karlsson will make his likely return in the Vegas Golden Knights game against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
Karlsson was on the ice on Monday in a “no contact” jersey, the first time he has participated in practice since training camp. The next day, Tuesday, he was moved into a “full contact” jersey.
“We anticipate he’ll be ready for Saturday,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said.
During today’s practice, Karlsson split duties on the fourth line with Cole Schwindt, centering Alexander Holtz and Brendan Brisson.
If Karlsson ends up centering that line, it’ll be a different pairing than he’s used to. He’s usually been paired with Mark Stone and Pavel Dorofeyev. Stone has found great success on the first line with Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev, and Dorofeyev has been paired with Tomáš Hertl on the second line.
Cassidy said there had been discussions about moving Schwindt to the wing and having Karlsson center the fourth line entirely.
“I’m not going to get that far ahead, cause now I’m telling a player he’s out of the lineup and has to play tomorrow,” Cassidy said on inserting Karlsson back into the lineup. “I found out Schwindt has played some wing, but we’ll make that decision Saturday morning.”
Karlsson’s absence has been felt in the lineup. The second line did not score for the season’s first six games, and the lineup has been changed multiple times outside of the first line.
Tuesday’s 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings was the first time the Golden Knights saw positive results from the new line combinations.
While the Golden Knights will be without Karlsson for one more game against Ottawa on Friday, his teammates are excited about his return.
“He’s an awesome guy and an incredible player,” Holtz said. “It will be an excellent team when he comes out there.”
Holtz, acquired by the Golden Knights this summer from the New Jersey Devils, has yet to play with his fellow countryman but said he likes everything about Karlsson’s game. He’s talked a lot with Karlsson and the two have developed a strong relationship.
“He (Karlsson) has a great 100-foot game, he can score goals, he can do it all,” Holtz said.