Mark Stone’s latest injury may come as a shock, but the Vegas Golden Knights say it’s not as serious as feared.
Stone has been sidelined due to an upper-body injury, but general manager Kelly McCrimmon emphasized Friday that the situation is under control and does not anticipate a lengthy absence.
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The 33-year-old Stone was placed on injured reserve Thursday after sustaining the injury in Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The incident occurred when Penguins defenseman Kris Letang lightly checked Stone, causing him to fall to one knee before skating slowly to the bench.
Friday marked Stone’s third consecutive missed game, this time against the Minnesota Wild. He is also set to sit out Sunday’s home matchup against the Edmonton Oilers but will be eligible to return afterward.
When pressed about whether the injury might be related to Stone’s previously surgically repaired back, McCrimmon declined to confirm but maintained a reassuring tone. “I think we’re really comfortable that it’s manageable,” he said. “We’re not alarmed by the injury that he has.”
Meanwhile, coach Bruce Cassidy reported that the Golden Knights captain was receiving treatment at City National Arena and remained in high spirits.
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This represents the best possible outcome for Stone, who had been on pace for a career season despite missing 16 games earlier in the year due to a broken finger in October.
Unfortunately for the Golden Knights, they suffered a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Wild on Friday.
The Wild exploded for three goals in just over three minutes during the second period to pull away for a 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.
Minnesota, third in the Central Division, has now gone 3-2 since the Olympic break, while Vegas remains second in the Pacific.
Mats Zuccarello sparked the scoring spree with a precise wrist shot at 5:18 of the second. Zach Bogosian followed with a blistering slap shot at 8:07, and newcomer Michael McCarron tipped in a third just 18 seconds later. Vladimir Tarasenko added an insurance goal with 4:18 left in the third, assisted by McCarron in his Wild debut.
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Vegas answered with third-period goals from Pavel Dorofeyev and Mitch Marner. Dorofeyev’s power-play tally at 2:17 marked his 30th of the season and ended Gustavsson’s bid for a shutout. Goaltender Akira Schmid finished with 20 saves.
Friday also featured several notable debuts for Minnesota, including Robby Fabbri, Bobby Brink, and Nick Foligno, who joins younger brother Marcus following his trade from Chicago. Vegas debuted Nic Dowd and Cole Smith, with Dowd acquired earlier that day from Washington. Meanwhile, Vegas placed forward Mark Stone on injured reserve Thursday due to an upper-body injury.
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