Knights’ health trending up as center returns to practice: ‘Good for us’

Tomas Hertl could return to the Golden Knights’ lineup sooner than expected.

The center practiced in a no-contact jersey Wednesday as he continues to recover from an upper-body injury.

“I’m sure he wants to be around his teammates,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “He’s been putting the work in. We weren’t sure how it was going to come along, but good to see him back out there.”

Hertl has missed the Knights’ past four games. He injured his shoulder March 23 against the Tampa Bay Lightning after being shoved into the boards by defenseman Emil Lilleberg.

Hertl, 31, is second on the Knights with 31 goals. He was rolling before his injury as well. He is tied for the third-most goals in the NHL since Jan. 7 with 21.

Cassidy has already ruled out Hertl for the Knights’ next three games. The team, which clinched a playoff spot for the seventh time in eight seasons Tuesday, hosts the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday before heading on the road to play the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

“It’s always step one to get around your teammates,” Cassidy said. “We’ll see how (Hertl) progresses from there and how he reacts to today.”

Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who has missed the Knights’ last four games with a lower-body injury, also participated in the team’s optional practice Wednesday.

Cassidy did not rule Pietrangelo out for Thursday’s game.

“We’ll see about tomorrow,” Cassidy said. “We’ll see how he is in the morning. He could be available. I’m not saying he will be, but he could be.”

The Knights (45-21-8) have been turning a corner with regards to health lately.

Center William Karlsson returned from a lower-body injury March 20, while defenseman Shea Theodore came back from an upper-body injury March 25.

Getting Hertl and Pietrangelo back soon should be another boost for the Knights as they chase a Pacific Division title. They have a five-point lead over the second-place Los Angeles Kings with eight games to go.

Hertl has played a huge role in the Knights building that cushion. His 14 power-play goals are tied for the fourth-most in the NHL.

“He’s a big part of our team,” right wing Pavel Dorofeyev said. “He’s strong (and) he plays very well on the defensive side as well. Good for us. I was so happy to see him back on the ice.”

Working on Winnipeg

The Knights are one of the few teams that can say they’ve had Winnipeg’s number this year.

The Jets (51-20-4), despite having an NHL-leading 106 points entering Wednesday, are 0-1-1 in the two meetings between the teams this season.

Winnipeg has gotten tremendous years from left wing Kyle Connor (90 points) and center Mark Scheifele (81 points), as well as another standout campaign from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

Hellebuyck, who could win his second straight Vezina Trophy and the third of his career, leads the NHL in wins (43). He is also first in goals-against average (2.02) and save percentage (.924) among goaltenders with at least 20 starts.

A win would give the Knights 100 points in a season for the third time in franchise history.

“(The Jets are) a very good team. They’ve had consistency all year up and down,” Cassidy said. “Really not a lot of weaknesses on their team. We tend to play them well for whatever reason, but hopefully that’s the case tomorrow.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.