LAS VEGAS (AP) — Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson will return for Game 1 of the team's second-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night after missing nearly six months with a lower-body injury.
“He doesn't speak a lot, just plays the game the right way,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said following an optional practice that morning. “Looking forward to getting him back in the lineup.”
Karlsson was hurt in the first period of Vegas’ 4-3 overtime loss against the Ducks on Nov. 8.
“It's been a long journey, but now I'm here," Karlsson said. "It feels good.”
Karlsson had four goals and three assists early in the season before the injury. He had back-to-back 50-point seasons, but finished with only 29 in 53 games last season, when he was sidelined twice because of injuries.
The Golden Knights held out the possibility that Karlsson, who has been an excellent two-way player, would return at some point even if it was deep in the playoffs. The organization never placed him on long-term injured reserve.
“I always had the goal in the back of my head that I wanted to return,” Karlsson said. “I always believed, so that kind of kept me going."
He was asked what his expectations were of his first game back.
“A hatty and six assists,” Karlsson said jokingly. “I'm going to keep the expectations low.”
Speculation of his return intensified when Karlsson returned to practice last week in Salt Lake City when the Golden Knights were playing the Utah Mammoth in their first-round series. He also practiced with the club's American Hockey League affiliate in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson.
Karlsson said getting his timing back could be an issue, but he thought “conditioning should be there. Get the chemistry going with the team again.”
Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, who took a puck to his helmet in Friday's 5-1 series-clinching victory at Utah, will not play, Tortorella said.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join us for community fun at the San Mateo Senior Showcase at the San Mateo Senior Center lo… Read moreSan Mateo Senior Showcase
Our Lady of Angels school presents Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr! Read moreOur Lady of Angels School Presents Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Join us for an evening of piano artistry with Sofya Gulyak 🎹, presented by Gradus ad Parnas… Read moreSofya Gulyak piano recital
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.