Golden Knights’ Injury Report: Hertl Status, Latest Update

The Vegas Golden Knights have missed Tomáš Hertl. Hertl left the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 23rd after an awkward collision with the boards. He’s slowly been taking the steps necessary for a return: skating, andpracticing with the team in a red no-contact jersey.

On Thursday, Hertl took the ice in a regular contact jersey, indicating that he would draw back into the lineup against the Seattle Kraken.

The Golden Knights missed Hertl, who leads the team in power play goals with 14 and is second in goals with 31. But Hertl missed the team just as much as they missed him.

“It feels nice to be back. It sucks to miss games, especially close to the playoffs,” said Hertl. “When you’re injured, you kind of feel alone because you stay here and don’t travel. So, it’s nice to be with the guys again and be part of the team.”

Before his injury, Hertl was red hot. He’d scored four goals in two games, including a hat trick against the Detroit Red Wings.

“[I liked my overall game], obviously scoring goals, but even in the defensive zone,” said Hertl on his game before the injury. “I liked the chemistry on my line with [Brandon Saad] and [Pavel Dorofeyev], so hopefully we can continue that. Hopefully, I can do the same things I did before I got hurt.

“I didn’t miss that much time. It’s not like last year,” finished Hertl. “It felt like the bye week; it was almost the same amount of time without [playing] a game.”

When head coach Bruce Cassidy spoke with the media following morning skate, he gushed about what Hertl brings to the team.

“[We’ve missed him most] on the power play, for sure; he’s been a big part of that,” said Cassidy. “The other guys have done a good job, but we miss his interior presence there. Offensively, even at 5-on-5, he was really doing a good job with [Dorofeyev] and [Saad]; they really had chemistry. Hopefully, they can recapture where they were. I thought they were playing very well defensively… He’s a big presence. He’s a load to handle.”

Cassidy expressed relief that Hertl’s recovery timeline allows him to draw back into the lineup before the postseason.

“He does get an opportunity to get back and get some games under his belt before the playoffs start. That’s the good part. How he reacts to that, we’ll see tonight around 10:30.”