Vegas Golden Knights fans celebrate after a goal is scored against Toronto during their game at T-Mobile Arena, Dec. 31, 2017.
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017 | 5:06 p.m.
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When the clock strikes midnight tonight, thousands will celebrate the start of 2018 on the Las Vegas Strip. Bubbling champagne will cascade from bottlenecks as the corks fly through the air, joyous partygoers will embrace their significant others with a celebratory kiss and hats will be tossed into the night sky.
Golden Knights fans partook a few hours early during the team’s 6-3 win over Toronto Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena. Their hats, though, rained down on the ice.
William Karlsson pulled himself up and dusted the shaved ice off the Golden Knights logo stitched onto the front of his sweater as he skated back to the bench, dodging hats all the way.
Karlsson scored three goals in Sunday’s win for the first hat trick of his career, and the first in Golden Knights’ franchise history.
“It’s pretty surreal to see all the hats flying down,” Karlsson said. “You dream about that your whole life. I was just very happy.”
The final goal didn’t come easy. Karlsson was in a footrace with Morgan Rielly, and the two dove head-first simultaneously and their sticks collided. Karlsson’s stick caught the puck first and it trickled into the empty net.
“I don’t think I’ve ever skated so fast in my life,” Karlsson said. “I really wanted it so I just threw myself and just whipped it. Luckily I hit it first and it was a great feeling seeing it going in the net.”
The goal was scored in the same fashion the Golden Knights have won as a team all year — outworking, and out hustling teams to the puck.
“He made an unbelievable effort to get that third goal,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. “He dove and knocked the puck in so it was a perfect ending. He had a good night, played real well and it’s nice to see a guy get a hat trick in our building, especially in a game like today.”
The win was the Golden Knights’ league-leading seventh-straight, and they have now earned a point in 12 straight games to end 2017.
“Obviously this streak is unbelievable,” Gallant said. “They’re playing great hockey every night. Everything is falling into place so you want to keep the guys working hard.”
The driving force has been the top line of Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith. The trio entered the game fourth in the NHL with a combined 31 points, and added four goals and four assists on Sunday.
“We are just finding each other and making our life simple out there,” Marchessault said. “We just skate and stay close to each other. We have a great connection and we just find each other. We always play against top lines on the other team and we know that if we play the right way we will get rewarded.”
And while Karlsson’s third goal was earned with hustle (and speed), his first two were the results of spectacular puck movement. His first came only 4:17 into the game when Smith set him up with a perfect pass on a two-on-one rush.
“When I don’t have the time to think that’s when it usually goes in,” Karlsson said, laughing. “They set me up every game, it feels like, so a lot of credit to them. All I have to do is be in the right spot and they feed me. I just know when the passes are coming and when they aren’t, so I just find open ice.”
Marchessault fed Karlsson with a pass in front of the net for his second one-timer goal of the game, and Karlsson later returned the favor by setting Marchessault up for his 14th goal of the year.
“(Karlsson) doesn’t do anything extra special,” Marchessault said. “He just does everything right, and it’s awesome to play with a guy like that. It’s the same thing with Reilly. We don’t do anything special, we just play great hockey together. It’s been a treat for us.”
If what Karlsson is doing is “nothing special,” then a lot of NHL teams would like to have that. Karlsson now has 20 goals, which is good enough for sixth in the league. His previous career high for an entire season was nine.
“It’s awesome,” Marchessault said. “A guy like that (Karlsson), has never had a big chance to be able to prove that he’s a top line guy and this year he’s making the most of it.”
While many look forward to turning the page tonight at midnight, the first-place Golden Knights wish 2017 could last forever.
Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.
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