- John Tortorella confirmed William Karlsson will miss Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final
- Karlsson got hurt on a second-period hit from Carolina’s Sean Walker in Game 5
- Read below for the hit, what Vegas loses, and the Game 6 picture
Vegas will play Game 6 without William Karlsson.
John Tortorella confirmed Saturday that the center is out for Sunday’s elimination game against Carolina. Karlsson got hurt on a hit from Sean Walker in Game 5 and hasn’t been on the ice since.
Here’s the Walker hit that sent Karlsson off:
Walker’s check came in the second period. Karlsson caught the boards with his arm behind the net and skated straight down the tunnel, then left the building for further evaluation.
Nobody around the team was surprised by the ruling. Karlsson exited Game 5 favoring his arm and hasn’t skated in the two days since.
Losing him guts a line that carried Vegas all spring. Karlsson centered Mitch Marner and Brett Howden, and the trio outscored opponents 11-3 in the playoffs.
He was scoring, too, including this one earlier in the Final:
His value goes past the scoresheet. Karlsson takes the hard faceoffs and logs penalty-kill minutes, the quiet work that swings one-goal games in June.
Now Vegas has to find offense up the middle for the biggest game of its season. The Golden Knights need a win Sunday to force Game 7 in Raleigh, with Carter Hart back in net and one of their best two-way centers in a suit.
