William Karlsson could be back Sunday night.
The Golden Knights’ center is a game-time decision against the Calgary Flames after missing the last five weeks with a broken foot, coach Pete DeBoer said. Karlsson took part in morning skate and was also in power-play drills.
“He’s out there, he’s close. He’s only skated for a couple days,” DeBoer said. “The injury he had, it was non-weight bearing so he literally hasn’t been on his feet for the last seven days and on the ice for the last three or four. We’ll see.”
In addition to being on the sidelines, Karlsson entered COVID protocol on Nov. 29 but did not need the minimum 10 days, it would appear. DeBoer did not confirm if it was a close-contact situation.
Should Karlsson return Sunday for this important division showdown, the Golden Knights would add another important name back to the lineup. In the past two weeks, the Golden Knights have since welcomed back Max Pacioretty (broken foot), Mark Stone (lower body), Zach Whitecloud (hand) and Jonathan Marchessault (COVID) to the lineup.
“If he does play, we’re going to have to be careful to limit him and that’s not easy to do with him because he’s such an easy guy to play in every situation. That’s going to be on me to try and communicate with him and see how he’s feeling if he does play.”
Vegas has lost three of five entering Sunday but is coming off a 7-1 win Friday against the Arizona Coyotes.