- Mark Stone returns to the Vegas lineup for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final
- The captain has missed six straight games with a lower-body injury from Round 2 vs. Anaheim
- Read below for the latest on his return, Vegas’s 2-0 lead and what’s at stake tonight
Vegas is getting its captain back.
John Tortorella confirmed Sunday that Mark Stone will return to the Golden Knights lineup for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche, per The Athletic’s Jesse Granger.
Stone has been on the shelf since Game 3 of the second round in Anaheim, when he left in the first period with a lower-body injury and never came back. He’s missed six straight games while Vegas closed out the Ducks in six and stole both games on the road in Denver.
The 33-year-old captain has been ramping up steadily. He skated with the scratches in Denver before Game 1, stayed late with skills coach Sean Farrell after Friday’s morning skate, and took reps with the group this week.
When Stone was healthy this postseason, he made it count. Three goals and seven points in nine games, including a power-play goal in Game 1 against the Utah Mammoth that was his 37th career playoff goal as a Golden Knight, a new franchise record.
His teammates managed to go 4-1 without him. Ivan Barbashev scored twice in Game 2, Mitch Marner has played his way into the Conn Smythe conversation, and Adin Hill keeps stealing nights.
Puck drops at 5 p.m. Pacific at T-Mobile Arena on ESPN. Cale Makar is again questionable for Colorado with an upper-body injury, leaving the Avs facing a potential 0-3 hole without their Norris-winning defenseman as Stone walks back into Vegas’s lineup.
