William Karlsson has authored some of the most spectacular goals in Vegas Golden Knights history.
Even he was impressed watching Tomas Hertl’s game-winner off the rush midway through the third period of Sunday night’s 5-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
“8.5 out of 10,” Karlsson laughed. “It was very nice. Just the move and then he got a really good shot off his backhand. So really nice.”
So what would he have needed to do to earn a 10 from the Swedish judge?
“Maybe a spin-o-rama on top of it,” Karlsson joked. “I don’t know, but a solid 8.5.”
Hertl took a touch pass from captain Mark Stone, carried it toward the middle, cut inside and finished with a backhand on Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood with 11 minutes remaining.
TOMAS HERTL GIVES VEGAS THE LEAD! 🤯 #StanleyCup
🇺🇸: @espn
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet & @TVASports pic.twitter.com/G5A63M8tfq— NHL (@NHL) May 25, 2026
Hertl’s spectacular goal may not have been quite enough to draw a perfect score, but the impact was immeasurable.
It gave the Knights their first lead of the game after rallying from a 3-0 deficit.
Hertl has now scored three times in the last six games after enduring a baffling 29-game stretch without a goal over the last 20 games of the regular season and the first six games of the playoffs.
“First thing, hopefully I’m done with the scoring slumps with the last two weeks,” he said. “It was just a great play, starting with (Kaedan Korczak). I just kind of grabbed speed, (Korczak) made a great play to (Mark Stone) and (Stone) to me.
“I kind of had a little speed. I just tried to make him move and a quick backhand. I actually got pretty good on it and it was quick enough. Big goal. Obviously, I was really happy about it.”
So were his teammates.
“Amazing,” forward Mitch Marner said of the goal. “Obviously, he was snakebitten there for a while. He had some amazing looks throughout the last couple of games there that he wasn’t able to finish, but that’s what he does.
“He’s a skillful guy. He makes those big plays when you need them. I’m just so happy for him. It’s a great goal, it’s a great play for our team. It’s a big goal. The excitement and joy he plays with every night, it’s something fun that you get to be a part of.”
Karlsson said Hertl presents a threat every time he takes the ice.
Now he is back to having the stats to back that up.
“It’s always nice to score goals, help the team with goals, but the only thing that matters is we won the game,” Hertl said. “Nobody looks at who’s scoring that night, who got the points. We just care about winning games. That’s why this room is so much fun to play with. It’s why we come back. We have belief in every single guy.”
MacKinnon hobbled
The Avalanche arrived Sunday with good news with the return of defenseman Cale Makar.
They left with potentially bad news. Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon was severely hampered by a blocked shot in the second period from defenseman Shea Theodore.
The puck hit MacKinnon’s knee. He was on the ice for several seconds before skating off on his own power.
MacKinnon returned the next shift, but eventually went to the locker room before the end of the second period.
He tried to gut it out in the third, but MacKinnon clearly wasn’t himself. During a third-period power play, MacKinnon — normally the one to carry it to the offensive zone — was on the unit as a decoy and shooting threat.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar didn’t have an update.
Smith leaves, then returns
Knights winger Cole Smith appeared to suffer a left hand/wrist injury during the third period. He went down the tunnel with 7:02 remaining.
The fourth-line acquisition has made an impact with his forechecking and has given the Knights a speed-checking presence to complement Nic Dowd and Keegan Kolesar.
Smith returned for one final shift after Brett Howden’s empty-net goal with 59 seconds left.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
