At the beginning of this postseason, when Karlsson returned from his second groin injury of the year, there was some presumption that he’d go right back to lording over his competition. After all, didn’t he almost carry the Ottawa Senators to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final on a broken foot?
This line of thinking, however, failed to acknowledge the difference between the 2017 and 2019 ailments. A groin injury shortcircuits the engine of Karlsson’s dominance: his superior skating.
From Game 1 against Vegas, despite the flashes, Karlsson’s skating didn’t look quite right:
He had moments when that pop was there, so it could be closer to a timing issue.