SAN JOSE, Calif. — William Karlsson tapped his temple with his left hand and turned to psychology to diagnose the Golden Knights’ current predicament.
“I think it’s all up here,” he said. “It’s all mental, right?”
The Knights find themselves behind after one game of the Western Conference quarterfinals in part because they fell for the mind games played by San Jose.
With Sharks fourth-line disruptor Micheal Haley running at goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and winger Evander Kane reaching the peak of his agitating powers, the Knights were lured into 34 minutes of penalties in Wednesday’s series opener.