After false-positive COVID test, Karlsson helps Golden Knights beat Kings

By Justin Emerson

Published Friday, March 19, 2021 | 9:39 p.m.

Updated Friday, March 19, 2021 | 10:50 p.m.

An hour before Friday’s game, William Karlsson was in NHL protocols for COVID-19 and appeared to be on track to sit out. The Golden Knights announced it was a false positive as warmups began, and Karlsson took his usual spot in the lineup.

It’s a good thing he did. Karlsson tipped home a Jonathan Marchessault offering late in the second period to give the Golden Knights a lead and they never looked back, taking down the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 at Staples Center for their fifth win in a row.

“It throws your whole group into disarray,” coach Pete DeBoer said of Karlsson’s result. “It’s a stressful day, both for him waiting to see if it’s a real positive or a false and all the close contacts that have been around him because it affects everybody.”

Karlsson's false-positive was the Golden Knights' second in a week after Marc-Andre Fleury had a similar experience in St. Louis.

Karlsson was not made available to the media after the game but told the AT&T SportsNet broadcast after the second period that he was confident he would be able to play.

“Just waited for the green light and tried to be prepared,” he said.

The Golden Knights became aware of Karlsson’s result Friday morning, and by league rule immediately went to his hotel room to isolate. He took multiple tests to confirm it was a false-positive and was able to get to Staples Center in time for the game.

There, he scored his first goal since March 3, snapping an eight-game skid without one and giving him his 200th point with Vegas. William Carrier also snapped a goalless drought with his first of the season in the third period.

Robin Lehner returned to the net as a starter for the Golden Knights after dressing as the backup on Wednesday. He made 23 saves in his first appearance since Feb. 7. He sustained a concussion days later that forced him to long-term injured reserve.

“What he’s gone through the last five weeks, the ups and downs of a concussion to begin with, and you throw in some of the other things he’s talked about, it hasn’t been an easy journey,” DeBoer said. “He’s worked hard and I know the guys wanted to work hard for him tonight.”

got things going early, scoring a traditional goal and a bit of an odd one. On the first, crashed to the front of the net and put home Stone’s feed. Stone’s assist extended his point streak to 10 games, the longest in team history.

The second one initially wasn’t a goal. back-handed a bouncing puck toward goalie Jonathan Quick, who caught it in his glove. After review, officials determined the puck in Quick’s trapper was still over the red line and counted as ’s 16th of the season.

“When I shot it I probably thought there might have been a chance, but I just figured those are pretty hard to prove,” said. “Then we got back to the bench and a couple of guys mentioned that you could tell on video, but every angle I saw I couldn’t tell but they were pretty adamant about it.

“That being said, I didn’t want them to jinx it, so I got off the bench.”

Down 2-0, the Kings didn’t wilt. Alex Iafallo scored on a rebound with 18 seconds left in the first period to inject some life into the team before the break. Trevor Moore then redirected a Matt Roy shot 6:18 into the second.

Vegas led in shots on goal 33-25.

The Golden Knights take on the Kings again at 3 p.m. Sunday at Staples Center.