Hey, remember when William Karlsson missed Monday's game for the Vegas Golden Knights? Remember when he was another missing piece when Vegas faced the Florida Panthers and Bruce Cassidy didn't give an update other than the Misfit being out for Monday's game? Well, it appears that there's a definitive answer to the Swedish center's whereabouts.
In conjunction with calling up Braeden Bowman, VGK have placed William Karlsson on IR.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) November 13, 2025
IR requires a player to miss at least seven days which rules #71 out through at least Saturday, and almost certainly longer.
It's almost a formality that Karlsson's going to be out for longer than this Saturday's affair against the St. Louis Blues. He left last Saturday's game against the Anaheim Ducks with a lower-body injury. The Misfit also joins a long list of injured Golden Knights, which includes Mark Stone (wrist injury) and Adin Hill (lower-body injury).
The Swedish forward was a lone bright spot on a mundane secondary-scoring unit. Before leaving Saturday's game against the Ducks, Karlsson had four goals and three assists. He also had an assist in the overtime loss, burning his old team in the process.
What does this mean for the Vegas Golden Knights now that William Karlsson is placed on injured reserve?
Obviously, a player getting injured is never fun. You lose a key asset that's also an incredible two-way player, leaving you exposed in many areas. Now, the Golden Knights must rely on the ol' "Next Man Up" mentality to get them through the season.
Already, they've called up Braeden Bowman to replace Karlsson on the roster. The Henderson Silver Knights standout looks to pick up where he left off after he scored seven goals and five assists in 12 games this season. Overall, it's a strong testament to the lack of offensive resources for the Golden Knights, who have scored four total goals during the first two periods in the last five games.
As Golden Knights fans know, the injury designations tend to drag out longer than expected. For every injury that's day-to-day, it's week-to-week. For week-to-week designations, you're looking at a monthly basis. Month-to-month? Well, you might want to check your pulse.
The best thing that Golden Knights fans can do is hope that the "Next Man Up" mentality can come through. That means that secondary scoring is an absolute must for Vegas. No more games with zero points from guys like Colton Sissons (one assist this season). Such players know that they need to carry the load for the lower lines.
After all, there's only so much that big names like Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel, and Mitch Marner can do. The recipe for winning the Stanley Cup doesn't revolve around Eichel getting 22 points or Dorofeyev scoring 10 goals. Instead, it's a collective effort to help everyone. At least pick your fellow man up, eh?