John Tortorella Faces Game 6 Without William Karlsson
john tortorella has to reshuffle his lines for Game 6 on Sunday because William Karlsson is unavailable after favoring his left arm and wrist in Game 5. The Golden Knights enter the night trailing the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in the Stanley Cup Final, one loss from elimination at T-Mobile Arena.
Karlsson misses Game 6
Karlsson left midway through the second period of Game 5 on Thursday and was expected to be out for the rest of the series. His absence takes away a center Vegas has used in a key role this postseason, and it forces a change in a series where every shift now carries elimination stakes.
Mitch Marner is a possibility to move to center in Karlsson’s place. He spent much of the season there when Karlsson was out with a lower-body injury, so Vegas has at least used that look before. When Karlsson returned, he centered a line with Marner and Brett Howden that at times was Vegas’s best this postseason.
Marner and the line shuffle
Marner did not hide what the loss means. “It obviously (stinks) losing Will, but it’s a next-man-up mentality,” he said. “So, we’ve just got to be ready to go.” He added that the group has to do more defensively and finish chances when they come.
John Tortorella also has other pieces available, including Brett Howden, while Reilly Smith and Shea Theodore remain part of the wider core that has been through this run before. The lineup decision comes against a backdrop of urgency, because the Golden Knights can still force a Game 7 if they win Sunday.
Sunday at T-Mobile Arena
Vegas goes into the game knowing exactly what the path looks like. Brayden McNabb put it bluntly: “It’s simple: go win a game,” and then, “Win a game, and go to Carolina for Game 7.” Ivan Barbashev said the group wants “to do everything we can to force a seventh and deciding game,” and added that it must “come to the rink and be ready to go.”
The other pressure point sits in goal. Carter Hart became the first goalie in Stanley Cup Final history to allow at least four goals in each of the first five games of the series, and he carries an.856 save percentage and a 3.70 goals-against average against Carolina through those five games. If Vegas is going to stretch the series, it needs the roster changes around Karlsson’s absence to hold together fast.
