The Vegas Golden Knights will be without center William Karlsson for Sunday’s critical Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals after he suffered a left arm injury.
The injury occurred during Thursday’s 4-2 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes on their home ice in Game 5.
The incident happened in the second period when Carolina defenseman Sean Walker delivered a crushing blow to Karlsson. His left arm struck the glass during the collision, and medical staff attended to him before he departed the venue for further evaluation.
When asked Saturday about Karlsson’s potential availability for a potential Game 7 in Raleigh, N.C., scheduled for Wednesday, Vegas coach John Tortorella refused to provide details.
Golden Knights winger Mitch Marner, who shares a line with Karlsson, expressed his frustration about losing his teammate at such a crucial time.
“It’s obviously a big miss,” Marner said following Saturday’s morning skate. “He’s done a lot of great things for us since he’s been back. But we’ve done this all year. We’ve had a lot of injuries throughout the year, throughout playoffs. So obviously it sucks losing Will, but it’s a ‘next-man-up’ mentality.”
The 33-year-old Karlsson has contributed three goals and nine points across 15 playoff contests. His regular season was limited to just 14 games after he suffered a lower-body injury on Nov. 8.
Throughout his entire nine-year tenure with Vegas since the franchise joined the NHL, Karlsson has been a consistent contributor. Across 569 regular season games with the Golden Knights, he has recorded 403 points, including 165 goals and 238 assists. His playoff statistics with Vegas include 80 points from 34 goals and 46 assists over 121 postseason games.
Prior to joining Vegas, Karlsson had stints with the Anaheim Ducks during the 2014-15 season and the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2015-17.
