'It's obviously a big miss': Knights rule out center William Karlsson for Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final

Danny Webster, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Jun 13, 2026

Published in Hockey

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LAS VEGAS — Coach John Tortorella confirmed on Saturday what was already expected, that center William Karlsson will not play for the Vegas Golden Knights in the do-or-die Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday.

“No,” Tortorella said when asked if Karlsson was available.

Karlsson left in the second period of Game 5 after being checked into the boards by Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker.

Karlsson had his left arm looked at by the training staff on the bench before skating to the locker room. ESPN reported he was taken to a local medical facility shortly after.

The Knights went on to lose 4-2 and will need to win Sunday in order to push the series to Game 7 back in Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday.

Tortorella did not officially rule out Karlsson for a winner-take-all situation, but it’s a strong likelihood that he will not be available.

It’s a huge blow to the Knights where the timing couldn’t be worse.

Karlsson sat out 68 games during the regular season, the most time he’s ever missed in his NHL career, with a lower-body injury he suffered in October.

The Original Misfit returned at the start of the second round against Anaheim to stabilize the Knights’ center depth and move Mitch Marner — the league’s leading scorer during the playoffs — back to right wing.

Karlsson immediately made an impact with nine points in 15 games. His plus-10 is tied with linemate Brett Howden for best plus-minus among forwards in that time.

Marner, Karlsson’s other linemate, has 22 of his 29 points since skating with Karlsson.

“It’s obviously a big miss,” Marner said. “He’s done a lot of great things for us since he’s been back in the lineup. We’ve done this all year. We’ve had a lot of injuries throughout the year, throughout the playoffs.

“Obviously, it sucks losing Will, but it’s next-man-up mentality. We just got to be ready to go. It’s going to be a tough hole to fill, but at the same time, we just got to do a better job of helping on the ice and doing a better job defensive-wise.”

The Knights got through the first round against the Utah Mammoth without Karlsson. Their experience eventually overcame his loss, thanks in part to the play of Marner and Howden.

A forward will need to go into the lineup, and a different center will have to anchor the second line. One of Brandon Saad or Reilly Smith will draw back in.

Marner played center in Karlsson’s absence during the regular season, and he was the primary center during the Utah series.

It’s possible Tortorella could load up the top line with Marner, center Jack Eichel and captain Mark Stone. Pavel Dorofeyev could also go back up with Eichel.

Tortorella would not disclose what Sunday’s lineup will look like.

The Knights are entering an elimination scenario without one of their most important players. Marner said the team wants to play for Karlsson.

“You feel for him in a lot of ways,” Marner said. “That’s a guy that competes his ass off. He’s a guy that’s done a lot of amazing things for us while he’s been in the lineup. You feel for him because he’s a competitor and wants to be in these types of games.

“That’s a big reason why we want to go out and do our thing tomorrow. You just got to take it shift by shift. Don’t look ahead, don’t look too far into advanced things. Just be in the moment, be ready to go and be ready for a challenge.”

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