Hertl’s confidence grows as Golden Knights search for consistency

Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) takes a shot on New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) during the third period of a NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. Photo by Wade Vandervort

Tomáš Hertl’s acclimation to the Vegas Golden Knights’ offensive system has been a lengthy one.

The 6-foot-3, 215 pound forward arrived last March in a trade with the San Jose Sharks and was expected to be a force in front of the net at center.

He wound up recording one point in seven playoff games, failing to find chemistry with his new teammates, and Vegas was bounced in the first round against the Stars.

Fast forward to this season.

With the Golden Knights holding a 4-5-1 record in January and losing five of their last six before Thursday’s tilt at St. Louis, Hertl has been one of the few bright spots during the stretch.

He has 11 points in the last seven games, with three of those games featuring multipoint performances. Coach Bruce Cassidy said Vegas has “needed” Hertl over the adverse stretch.

“We need some other guys that have been fighting it a bit or not getting puck luck to emerge soon,” Cassidy said last week.

At the beginning of the season, Hertl was set to center the second line as William Karlsson was out with an injury. Through the first three months of the season, he still wasn’t producing at the pace the Golden Knights had expected.

Hertl was a force on the power play, scoring seven times when the Golden Knights were playing with a man advantage. However, at even strength, the lack of production was troublesome. 

Cassidy tried multiple moves to get Hertl going, including shifting him from center to wing, which Hertl said he’s done throughout his career.

“I’m kind of used to it,” Hertl said of the move to the wing. “This system is a little different than any I’ve played in my entire career if it’s wing or center, but otherwise, I don’t mind going up and down.”

Hertl’s strong January puts him on pace for his first season of 60 or more points in two years. Whether it’s at center or on the wing, he said he has felt stronger around the net and shooting the puck more instead of passing it.

“At the end of the year, I hesitated to shoot and always tried to pass, and now I’m shooting it more,” Hertl said. “I’ve gotten a lot better in my game. I’ve learned that this is still a new team, but I’ve really settled in.”

His confidence has also been showing lately.

On Monday, in the first leg of a home-and-home series against the Blues, Hertl pulled the puck in between his legs and tried to score from that position.

“When you score a couple of goals, everybody has a lot more confidence, and you try more stuff,” Hertl said. “It definitely feels nice, but I’m looking for more to win hockey games for our team than scoring my points.”

It’s been difficult for Hertl to get excited about his personal success because the Golden Knights aren’t winning, he said.

“When you win the game and you score a goal, it feels way better than when you score goals and you lose the game,” Hertl said. “When you win the game, you celebrate everything, and you can talk about what you did, but when you lose, you just care about the loss.”

Now settled in with the Golden Knights and understanding the team’s identity, Hertl believes they aren’t playing bad hockey but just not getting the bounces they need to win.

Like how he found his game, Hertl said the Golden Knights need to keep playing to their identity, and they will start winning.

“We’re a big, strong team with strong forecheckers and are strong on the puck. We’re one of the best teams in the league,” Hertl said. “That’s our identity. We’ve just got to keep doing that.”