Victor Olofsson made it look easy. It definitely was not.

The Golden Knights right wing was just above the goal line on the right side of the net Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets. He was facing a sharp angle if he wanted to attempt to shoot.

That’s just what he did. Olofsson received a pass from captain Mark Stone and snapped a one-timer past Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck — the reigning Vezina Trophy winner — to tie the game for the Knights with 1:49 to go in regulation.

They went on to win 3-2 in overtime.

The goal, one of four Olofsson scored during the Knights’ three-game road trip, showed why he’s the team’s hottest offensive player right now. The 29-year-old was available for a one-year, $1.075 million contract this offseason, but has scored seven goals in 11 games.

“I’m staying ready. I’ve got to be ready wherever the puck may be,” Olofsson said. “It’s also kind of reading the play, just getting in a good spot and being available.”

Olofsson has been nothing but consistent his first season with the Knights.

He got off to a strong start with three goals in four games. He then suffered a sprained ankle Oct. 15 against the Washington Capitals that cost him a month and a half.

He’s scored six points — four goals, two assists — in seven games since returning to the lineup. The Knights are 5-2 in that stretch.

“I’ve been feeling good. I’m right there where I’ve needed to be,” Olofsson said. “Obviously, I’ve had some bounces here the last few games. Just have to take advantage of them and keep shooting. It’s been a good little stretch here.”

Quick release

What Olofsson is doing is no surprise to center Jack Eichel.

The two played on a line together with the Buffalo Sabres earlier in their careers. Eichel has seen the puck fly off Olofsson’s stick before. He knows how dangerous a weapon his teammate can be.

“It’s the same as I remember,” Eichel said. “He’s got a great shot, obviously. So lethal.”

Goal scorers spend a lot of time on their shot. Velocity and precision are the key components. Olofsson, a three-time 20-goal scorer, has spent years trying to perfect his craft.

It’s paying off now. He could set a new career high in goals this season, after scoring 28 in 75 games with the Sabres in 2022-23.

“I’ve worked on (my release) a lot growing up,” Olofsson said. “You’ve got to stay on it and sharpen your tools as always.”

Olofsson said his release is critical because the faster you can fire the puck, the better the chance the goalie won’t be in position to make the save.

“If you can get it off as quick as possible when the goalie’s not set, a lot of times it can trickle in through his arms and sometimes five-hole,” Olofsson said. “I think that’s the easiest way to score in hockey.”

Power-play weapon

Olofsson’s shot makes him a dangerous power-play player. It’s why he has 39 goals on the man advantage in his career.

His addition has helped the Knights record the fourth-best power play percentage in the NHL so far at 27.6 percent. Four of Olofsson’s seven goals have come on the man advantage.

Coach Bruce Cassidy said Olofsson’s presence stretches out opposing penalty kills. He and Eichel play on opposite sides of the ice, so teams can’t commit too many players one way or the other. It’s the type of formula that some of the league’s most successful power plays have used for years.

“If they keep playing and performing, getting pucks back and recovering pucks, they could have pretty good numbers to compete against those types of power plays,” Cassidy said.

Cassidy said an undervalued skill is catching one-timers clean. The best power-play options practice that constantly. It’s what Olofsson had to do against Winnipeg. The game might have slipped away from the Knights if he didn’t fire the puck as soon as it hit his stick.

The play showed what Olofsson can bring to the team when healthy. There’s a reason he replaced right wing Pavel Dorofeyev on the first power-play unit, even though Dorofeyev is second on the Knights with five power-play goals.

“It wasn’t anything to do with Pav,” Cassidy said. “Pav did a good job there. It’s just we felt (Olofsson) was a little bit ahead. We’ll leave it alone until we need to fix it.”

Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.