Just four games into his first season with the Vegas Golden Knights, forward Victor Olofsson had already earned the nickname “Goalofsson” from fans.

Acquired by Vegas during free agency from Buffalo, Olofsson was brought on to add even more depth to the offense and wasted no time meeting that standard.

Early on, he tallied three points in four games, including two goals in an 8-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche in the season opener.

It looked like Olofsson was going to be a perfect replacement for one of the many Golden Knights who left via free agency in the summer. Then he sprained his ankle against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 15, less than a week into the season.

Since then, Olofsson has been undergoing rehab for nearly two months. He had been skating individually — separate from practices — for weeks and was even assigned to Henderson on a conditioning loan for a week and a half.

Saturday, against the Utah Hockey Club, Olofsson made his long-awaited return to the ice.

“It’s been tough,” Olofsson said. “Obviously, it’s never fun to be injured and work on the sideline, but it’s been, it’s been good, too. I’ve been working and I feel good now. It feels good to be back.”

Olofsson’s rehab in Henderson came at a good time. During the 11 days he was with the Silver Knights, practicing and not playing, Vegas was on a five-game road trip, meaning he was able to practice locally and not have to travel with the team.

The Golden Knights got little to no practice time on the road, whereas Henderson had three games over those 11 days, all of which were at home.

“It’s great to be able to go down there and skate, especially with the guys here who went on the road,” Olofsson said. “I got a good couple of practices, and they really helped me get ready for the game.”

In his first game in seven weeks against Utah, Olofsson said he felt like he played better than expected. While he was confident, he thought it was going to be harder on his legs, but the work he had been putting in paid off.

In his first outing, Vegas got as much as it could out of Olofsson, playing 16:54 minutes at wing alongside William Karlsson and Brett Howden.

“I started good when I got injured, left on a good note in that aspect and my game felt great,” Olofsson said on returning to the ice. “It was just a little bit of timing stuff. Other than that, I felt pretty good. I worked my way into the game a little bit more.”

Olofsson may have been a little too eager to get back onto the ice as he took a tripping penalty on his first shift.

“Obviously, I’m glad they (Utah) didn’t score on the power play, but it wasn’t the kind of start I wanted,” Olofsson said. “I just got to get that timing down. That’s the biggest part.”

Vegas is beginning to make progress in moving a handful of players off injured reserve and back onto the main roster. Olofsson is back in the lineup, and Mark Stone skated with the team in a red “no-contact” jersey during Monday’s practice.

With Olofsson back and Stone likely making a return soon, defensemen Zach Whitecloud and Ben Hutton are the two who remain on injured reserve.

“I give a lot of credit to the guys that have stepped up and maybe played different roles or different positions to help the team win games,” Jack Eichel said.

There’s excitement and eagerness to get players like Olofsson and Stone back into the lineup, but there’s also an understanding that it’ll take them a moment to get back to their previous pace.

“Victor (Olofsson) was tough,” Eichel said. “We lost him early, and it’s not an easy injury to deal with. I think he’s happy to be back out there. It’ll take him a few games, having dealt with a few ankle sprains myself, it’s not something that’s, you know, super easy to just hop right back into it.”