Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone has been cleared to observe after struggling a lacerated spleen earlier this season, according to an announcement from the team. Stone is taking part in Friday’s morning skate with the Golden Knights and can put on a non-contact jersey.
Stone has been out of the lineup since he suffered a lacerated spleen on account of successful through the second interval of the Feb. 20 recreation towards the Nashville Predators. On the time of Stone’s harm, Golden Knights normal supervisor Kelly McCrimmon did not supply a timetable for Stone’s return to the ice.
The Vegas captain registered 53 factors (16 targets & 37 assists) in 56 video games earlier than the harm.
“Our objective proper now could be to get in to see if we will get a wholesome lineup dressed,” Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy mentioned on Wednesday. “That is nonetheless a giant query mark with a lot of totally different guys, that I can not offer you solutions to once they’ll be able to go. That is what our group is taking a look at proper now. There’s mild on the finish of the tunnel. If we discover our approach in [to the playoffs], we’ll be seeded the place we find yourself seeded after which if you will get a couple of wholesome our bodies again, it would convey type of, ‘The band’s again collectively’ mentality from final yr. I feel that is what’s given us motivation.”
The Golden Knights handled an identical scenario heading into the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Stone had suffered a again harm in February 2023, however ended up returning for the group’s opening-round sequence towards the Winnipeg Jets.
En path to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, Stone completed third on the group in factors (24) behind solely Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel. In Sport 5 of the Stanley Cup Closing, Stone registered a hat trick and have become solely the third NHL participant to ever achieve this in a Stanley Cup-clinching scenario.
If Stone returns for the postseason, it will be an enormous addition for a Vegas group that’s at present battling for its playoff lives. The Golden Knights will clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday, and a St. Louis Blues to the Carolina Hurricanes.
