Golden Knights To Activate Mark Stone
The Vegas Golden Knights will have their captain back tonight. According to Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Golden Knights will activate Mark Stone from the injured reserve ahead of tonight’s contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he’ll make his return to the lineup.
Stone is only one week removed from being placed on the injured reserve, although it was made retroactive to March 1st. He has been managing an upper-body injury, his second of the season, that has affected his games played.
The 33-year-old winger has been exceptional for Vegas this year when healthy. Despite missing 22 games due to injury, Stone remains third on the team in scoring with 21 goals and 60 points with a +17 rating. Given how the team has been playing lately, they could certainly use a boost to the lineup.
Since returning from the Olympics, the Golden Knights have managed a 2-6-0 record, dropping to third place in the Pacific Division. During that stretch, the team has only managed 2.38 GF/G, meaning an influx of offense from Stone will be welcomed.
Assuming Stone can remain healthy for Vegas’ 17 remaining games in the 2025-26 season, he should help the team capture its fifth Pacific Division title. At the time of writing, the Golden Knights are three points back of the Anaheim Ducks and tied with the Edmonton Oilers, although the Oilers have the edge in a tiebreaker.
Still, even if Vegas is unable to finish atop the Pacific Division, they shouldn’t be in any danger of falling out of the postseason conversation. Despite their recent performance, the team holds a five-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings, along with five additional wins in regulation.
Pacific Notes: Granlund, Carlson, Golden Knights, Sharks
There is a growing expectation that the Anaheim Ducks will return forward Mikael Granlund to the lineup tomorrow. According to Derek Lee of The Hockey News, Granlund was a full participant at practice this morning and centered the team’s second line.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the Ducks will have a complete lineup. In a separate report from Lee, he indicated that recent acquisition John Carlson remains working his way back from a lower-body injury and isn’t expected to debut tomorrow.
At any rate, it’ll be a decent boost for Anaheim to get Granlund back into the lineup. He has been oft-injured this year, appearing in only 38 games, scoring 12 goals and 27 points. Still, the Ducks will need all the depth they can as they continue their playoff push.
Additional notes from the Pacific Division:
- Per Jason R. Pothier and Ken Boehlke of SinBin, General Manager Kelly McCrimmon provided a few updates on several key injuries to the Vegas Golden Knights. Regarding the forward corps, McCrimmon said the team only expects captain Mark Stone to miss the next few days. Additionally, the Golden Knights haven’t placed forward William Karlsson on season-ending long-term injured reserve, but will have to make it to the semifinals if they want to see him again this season. Lastly, McCrimmon added that netminder Carter Hart is still a few weeks away from returning.
- The San Jose Sharks retained their numerous pending unrestricted free agents through the deadline as their own rentals, rewarding the team’s performance so far. Speaking with Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News, General Manager Mike Grier said, “So it kind of felt like it was the best thing to do, in all fairness to them, to kind of keep the group together and see how the rest of the season goes.” Regardless, that didn’t stop teams from making calls, specifically regarding Mario Ferraro and John Klingberg.
Golden Knights Place Mark Stone On IR
3/5/26: The Golden Knights have placed Stone on IR, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Assuming the placement is retroactive to March 1, when he suffered his injury, Stone’s IR placement will keep him sidelined until at least Sunday. The move opens a roster spot for the team’s reported acquisition of Nic Dowd, in a trade that has still not yet been officially announced.
3/2/26: The Vegas Golden Knights will have a major hole to fill in the short-term. Top winger Mark Stone is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury sustained in Vegas’ Sunday loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters including Mike Harrington of Buffalo News. Stone’s injury came late in the first period, after a nudge from Penguins defenseman Kris Letang. He will be questionable for Vegas’ road game versus the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
Stone reached the end of the 2024-25 season in good health, dsepite mid-season injuries, but has otherwise built a tendency for missing games in the second-half of the season. Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh marked just the second time in the last four seasons that Stone has played a game in March. Routine injuries have held him out of 144 games between the start of the 2019-20 season and the end of 2024-25. He has missed an additional 17 games already this season.
The routine absences are routinely a major blow to the Vegas offense. Stone is a pillar of the lineup when healthy. He ranks second on the Golden Knights in scoring this season, with 21 goals and 60 points in only 43 games. That is a 114-point scoring pace over a full 82-game season, by far the highest on the Golden Knights. Stone has averaged 52 games, and 53 points, per season dating back to his first full season with the Golden Knights.
Vegas will face a tough test in finding who should replace Stone in the lineup. The Golden Knights are also facing injuries to forwards Jonas Rondbjerg, William Karlsson, and Brett Howden – straining the team’s offensive depth. Right-winger Alexander Holtz is currently Vegas’ only extra forward and could be in line for a return to the lineup as a result. Holtz appeared in five games in February, recording three points and eight shots on net. He has racked up nine points and a minus-one in 28 games this season, often from a fourth-line role in Vegas’ lineup.
Stone’s hole in the top-six will put more pressure on Pavel Dorofeyev, Ivan Barbashev, and Braeden Bowman to step into bigger, scoring roles. The trio rank fifth, sixth, and seventh on the Vegas offense in scoring – with 47, 42, and 23 points respectively. They will fill major roles as Vegas looks towards tough matchups against the Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and Minnesota Wild over their next three games.
Injury Notes: Stone, Jones, Eriksson Ek, Foligno
Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone left this afternoon’s action in Pittsburgh and did not return. After the game head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters, including SinBin.vegas, it was upper-body, with no real update until tomorrow.
It seemed to be an innocuous play, where Kris Letang simply bumped into him for position in the neutral zone, but Stone went to the bench immediately. His day ended after just 6:06 on the ice. It’s not clear at this time if the ailment is related to his wrist issue which has bothered the star throughout the season.
When healthy, the 33-year-old has continued to play at an elite level, with 60 points in just 42 games. Already placed on LTIR once earlier this year, as well as in the past, it will be curious to see what comes next for the veteran with the trade deadline looming.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Panthers defenseman Seth Jones was spotted this morning at practice in a regular jersey, per Jameson Olive, Director of Digital Platforms for the team. The 31-year-old is working his way back from his upper-body injury which happened during the Winter Classic and has now shed the non-contact jersey. Unfortunately, the ailment cost the Texas native a spot on the eventual Olympic gold winning Team USA, as Jackson LaCombe took his place. Nonetheless, Jones will provide a big boost to a Panthers group which is seeking to defy the odds and claw their way back into the playoffs after a season ravaged by injuries. The veteran figures to return sometime this week, but Florida is currently on a four game road trip running through Friday.
- Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek is good to go today against the Blues, head coach John Hynes shared, later posted by the team. The center took a high stick close to his eye on Friday, the team recalling Tyler Pitlick in case he was unable to play. Eriksson Ek has played in 54 of the club’s 60 games so far, posting 42 points. Pitlick is still in the lineup however, as Marcus Foligno is absent with a lower-body injury per the team. The 34-year-old has shown signs of offensive regression this year with just six goals in 48 games, but he’s still a vital leader for the group, 77 games away from reaching the 1,000 mark. Foligno could return as soon as Tuesday against Tampa Bay.
Golden Knights Place Mark Stone On Long-Term Injured Reserve
Oct. 23: Stone’s IR placement has turned into an LTIR placement, per PuckPedia. They were short on cap space after recalling Carl Lindbom and Jaycob Megna from AHL Henderson on Wednesday, so this was the expected outcome. With an additional $3.82MM in their LTIR pool, they now have just under $2.5MM in cap space following the recalls. Since the placement is retroactive to Oct. 18 and he needs to miss at least 10 games and 24 days before he’s eligible to return, the soonest he’ll be back is Nov. 13 against the Islanders.
Oct. 21: Stone landed on injured reserve last night, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It’s purely a formality; a week-to-week designation ensured he’d missed the seven days required for IR. Vegas now has an open roster spot, but there’s only $310,275 remaining in their LTIR pool, according to PuckPedia. That doesn’t leave them enough room to make a corresponding recall unless they play short a skater for a game, allowing them to use an emergency exception and temporarily exceed the cap by recalling a player with a cap hit of $875,000 or less.
Oct. 20: Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy announced that winger Mark Stone is out week-to-week with a wrist injury in a Monday press conference, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic.
Stone fell face-first into the boards and briefly returned to the locker room in Vegas’ Thursday win over the Boston Bruins. He remained in the lineup and scored four points in Saturday’s win over the Calgary Flames, but appeared to take another awkward fall midway through the third period, also captured by Granger.
It’s not clear if either fall is connected to Stone’s injury. He’ll be forced out of the short term, leaving Vegas with a big hole in their top six. Stone ranks second on the team and across the NHL, scoring 13 points in six games. He has found a comfortable role next to scoring leader Jack Eichel and winger Ivan Barbashev, forming a top line that’s outscored opponents five-to-three at even-strength.
Stone has long been among Vegas’ best players but struggles with routine injury. He has missed 170 games across six full seasons with the Golden Knights, or roughly 35 percent of a possible 492 games. He’s also averaged 26 goals and 80 points per 82 games played in that period. That productivity and a lofty impact on defense make Stone a standout whenever he’s in the lineup. Now, Vegas will have to push through at least a few games without that difference-maker.
In Stone’s absence, Vegas will likely turn towards Brandon Saad or Reilly Smith to fill a top-six winger role. Smith has one point, while Saad hasn’t scored through six games this season. More pressingly, Stone’s absence should give Shea Theodore a chance to return to the top power-play unit. Vegas has been operating with five forwards on their top unit, thanks to Pavel Dorofeyev‘s five power-play points to start the year. That’s left Theodore with just five minutes of ice time and no scoring on the power-play. Vegas could also turn towards William Karlsson, who has one power-play point and three total points in six games.
Pacific Notes: Chytil, Boeser, Stone, Kapanen
While it was a good day for the Canucks on the scoreboard, it was a tough one on the injury front. Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province relays that center Filip Chytil exited today’s game on a hit from Washington’s Tom Wilson and had to be helped off the ice. A major penalty was initially assessed on the play but was rescinded after review. The 26-year-old has a long documented history of concussion troubles with five already and while it’s unclear at this point if that’s something he may have or not, it’s something that will ensure the team errs on the side of caution. Chytil had three goals in his first five games to tie him for the team lead heading into today’s action. Meanwhile, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that the Department of Player Safety will review the hit but no supplemental discipline is expected.
More from the Pacific:
- Still with the Canucks, the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Brock Boeser missed today’s game for personal reasons; no further details were provided by the club. The 28-year-old had gotten off to a decent start to the season with three goals in five games while also seeing some playing time on the penalty kill, a role he hasn’t filled in a while. Jonathan Lekkerimaki took his place in the lineup but he, too, left today’s game early with an undisclosed injury.
- Golden Knights winger Mark Stone left last night’s game with what looked to be a wrist injury. Head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters postgame including Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that there was no immediate update and that they were hoping to know more information about the injury by Monday. The captain has had a great start to the season, leading the league in assists with 11 through his first six games.
- Oilers winger Kasperi Kapanen left today’s game against Detroit in the second period with an undisclosed injury, the team announced. The veteran has been a regular in Edmonton’s bottom six through the first six games of the season where he has two assists. Notably, the team does not have enough accrued cap space to recall anyone from AHL Bakersfield (even with LTIR) as things stand which could be something to keep an eye on if he’s set to miss any more time.
Injury Updates: Gostisbehere, Stone, Lundkvist
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere left last night’s victory over the Los Angeles Kings with a lower-body injury, according to a team announcement. After the game, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told the media, including team reporter Walt Ruff, that Gostisbehere “tweaked something,” and could add to the list of injured Hurricanes defensemen – one that already includes star blueliner Jaccob Slavin, who is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury of his own.
If Gostisbehere is to miss any games with this injury, beyond just the portion of the game he missed last night, it would be a serious blow to the Hurricanes defense. Despite playing in the fewest even-strength minutes per game of any Hurricanes blueliner so far this season, Gostisbehere quarterbacks Carolina’s top power play unit and is tied for the league lead in points by a defenseman with seven in five games. In Gostisbehere absence, offseason addition K’Andre Miller took over the team’s top power play unit, and in terms of who could draw into the lineup in the case that Gostisbehere misses game action moving forward, rookie Charles-Alexis Legault is in position as the team’s current spare blueliner.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone left last night’s victory over the Calgary Flames with an apparent wrist injury, reports Mark Anderson of the Associated Press. According to Anderson, Stone left the ice midway through the third period, clearly dealing with something. After the game, head coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t have a further update on Stone’s status, but said they’d likely have more information to give on Monday. Stone, 33, ranks second in leaguewide scoring at the moment with 13 points in six games, and it’s worth noting that he has been injury prone for much of his NHL career. Stone hasn’t hit 70 games played in a season since 2018-19, and played in 66 games last season.
- Dallas Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist suffered a lower-body injury in the team’s Thursday contest against the Vancouver Canucks, an injury that limited him to a season-low 11:18 time-on-ice. Last night, Stars coach Glen Gulutzan provided an additional update on Lundkvist’s status, telling the media (including the Dallas News’ Lia Assimakopoulos) that Lundkvist would be out for “a little bit” with the injury. Lundkvist, 25, has scored three points through four games so far this season, and saw his spot on the team’s second pairing alongside Thomas Harley filled by veteran Ilya Lyubushkin.
Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Canucks, Sharks
The Golden Knights’ 2025 postseason came to a swift end in the second round at the hands of the Oilers. They were without winger Brandon Saad for most of that series and also had Mark Stone and Brayden McNabb carry injury designations at times, the former missing the series-clinching Game 5.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon told reporters today that none of them will require offseason surgery and there are no injury concerns entering 2025-26 among players signed through next year, per SinBin.vegas. Saad would have been out for the longest period of time had Vegas avoided elimination, while McNabb’s upper-body injury was the most significant of the bunch. Stone and McNabb will be back next year – the latter signed an extension mid-season – but Saad may have played his last game as a Knight after signing a one-year, $1.5MM contract in Vegas in January.
As for McNabb, the 34-year-old will get some needed recovery time after arguably the best season of his 13-year career. The shutdown defender recorded 20 points and played in all 82 games for the third straight season, leading the team and finishing second in the league with a +42 rating. He led Vegas with 167 blocks and led Knights defensemen with 131 hits.
More from the Pacific Division:
- The Canucks have $16.72MM in cap space to burn this summer and no notable free agents to retain outside of forwards Brock Boeser and Pius Suter, both of whom are unrestricted. The former appears set on testing the market despite Vancouver’s desire to talk extension, meaning Vancouver will have a decent amount of flexibility to improve their stagnant offense this offseason. Speaking on Canucks Central today, president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford told Dan Riccio and Satiar Shah that “we’re going to be in the free agent market if we still have cap space at that time – but we may get our work done before then.” Reading between the tea leaves – expect some trade rumors from Vancouver this summer.
- The Sharks have called the SAP Center home since their third year of existence in 1993-94, and that won’t change anytime soon. They’re close to finalizing a 25-year lease extension with the City of San Jose that will keep them at the downtown arena through 2050, per Curtis Pashelka and Devan Patel of The Mercury News. Local government will be putting funds toward renovating the arena, the fifth-oldest in the league, as part of the contract.
Mark Stone Out For Game 5
8:20 p.m.: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Stone is not taking warm-ups for Vegas, indirectly confirming he won’t play tonight.
3:50 p.m.: Golden Knights captain Mark Stone is tracking toward being held out of a must-win Game 5 tonight 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 sustained 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 tonight, 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.
Golden Knights’ Mark Stone Out Day-To-Day
While the Vegas Golden Knights came away with a Game Three win over the Edmonton Oilers last night, not all the news out of Vegas was positive. Captain Mark Stone left the game in the first period with an injury and did not return. He is now listed as day-to-day, per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The team announced on social media that Stone would not be returning after leaving the game with 6:20 of the first period due to an upper-body injury. The injury occurred when stone collided with Corey Perry in the neutral zone. After remaining down for a brief second, Stone skated back to the bench and did not return. While Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t provide much of an update after the game, he did state that Stone could be available as soon as Game 4. He added that the team would learn more about Stone’s status today.
If Stone does miss time, Cassidy said it provides players like Reilly Smith more of an opportunity to step up. As Cassidy told reporters: “It seemed the guys wanted to pick him up. What it does is allow other players like a Reilly Smith to get more opportunity, and he took advantage of it.”
While the Golden Knights managed to avoid a 3-0 series deficit without Stone, they’ll undoubtedly need their captain—not just for his leadership, but for his proven playoff performance. In 84 career playoff games with Vegas, Stone has posted 36 goals and 72 points, including eight points in nine games this season. As series victory, as well as a deep run in the playoffs, will likely hinge on getting Stone back into the lineup.