This really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone, but William Karlsson has been named the NHL’s first star of the week following a four-game stretch in which Wild Bill registered nine points (three goals and six helpers), guiding the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-1-0 record during that span.
Karlsson had a pair of three-point performances last week against the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues, but perhaps his best performance of the week (and possibly season) came Saturday night against the San Jose Sharks when he did this:
Karlsson’s shorthanded between-the-legs dazzler ended up being the game-winner against San Jose, securing the Pacific Division title for Vegas in its inaugural season.
The 25-year-old Swede has accumulated 75 points (including a ridiculous 42 goals) through 79 games this season. It’s been argued that Karlsson’s shooting percentage (23.3) is unsustainably high, but to the chagrin of all likelihood and rational thinking, he continues to find ways to get pucks in the back of the net. It’s possible Karlsson’s due for a major scoreless drought, but maybe he’s just that good of a goal scorer?
This pretty much goes without saying, but it appears the impending restricted free agent will be up for quite the heft payday this offseason. And Rocket Richard contenders certainly don’t come cheap.