SAN JOSE — Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson took the pass from Tomas Hertl as he was backtracking inside his own blue line and took six small strides before he got to the red line.
He then fed a return pass — one that got under the stick of William Karlsson — back to Hertl, who created some space for himself and snapped a shot that got past Marc-Andre Fleury just 1:16 into the first period of Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
It was just a quick little burst from Karlsson on Thursday night, but it was an early indication that he was feeling better than he was two days earlier in Game 4 when his mobility — or lack thereof — was easy to recognize.