Golden Knights captain Mark Stone is tracking toward being held out of a must-win Game 5 Wednesday night against the Oilers due to an undisclosed injury, SinBin.vegas relays. He’s presumably still dealing with the effects of the upper-body injury he suffered early in Game 3 that made him a game-time decision for Game 4.
Stone ended up playing Monday’s contest but hasn’t practiced with the team since. He departed Game 3 in the first period shortly after appearing to take Oilers winger Corey Perry’s skate to his left wrist.
After eclipsing the point-per-game mark in the regular season for the third time in his career, Stone has remained a pivotal top-line piece for Vegas in the playoffs. He’s played all 10 games thus far and leads the team with four goals. His four assists give him eight points, second on the team behind Jack Eichel’s nine. He’s the only Knights winger averaging over 20 minutes per game, although his usually high-end two-way impacts haven’t held up. Vegas is still controlling 50.6% of shot attempts with Stone on the ice at even strength, but that’s only 14th out of 20 Knights skaters to suit up in the postseason.
Victor Olofsson will take Stone’s spot on Eichel’s right wing as the Knights, down 3-1 in the series, look to avoid their season ending, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic. They’ll be joined by Brett Howden on the top line while usual Eichel/Stone linemate Ivan Barbashev gives them some scoring depth on the third line with William Karlsson and Reilly Smith.
They’ll also remain without in-season pickup Brandon Saad, who had two assists through eight playoff games but missed Games 3 and 4 with a lower-body injury. According to SinBin.Vegas, he’s not expected back unless the Knights rally back and advance to the Western Conference Final.
