The injury-plagued Vegas Golden Knights finally have their captain in the lineup for the first time since February.
Mark Stone is playing against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night after missing nearly one-third of the 82-game schedule with a back injury.
The star Golden Knights winger collected eight goals and 20 assists over 28 contests before sustaining the ailment.
Vegas moved goaltender Laurent Brossoit along with forwards William Carrier and Nolan Patrick to injured reserve, clearing enough cap space to activate Stone. The Golden Knights moved the trio to LTIR to facilitate the move, according to CapFriendly.
That brings the team's current number of players on LTIR to seven, the most by any NHL club in a season simultaneously since at least 2015.
This is the most simultaneous players a team has had on LTIR since our inception in 2015.#VegasBorn currently has 7 players on LTIR.
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) April 12, 2022
The previous the record was 6, held by both the #Blackhawks in 2021, and the #LeafsForever in 2020.https://t.co/Sxtahahh6c pic.twitter.com/aE5TSPSmWR
Stone's usual linemate and fellow star forward, Max Pacioretty, came back Saturday after missing the last 12 games himself. The Golden Knights have had a slew of players out with both short- and long-term injuries this season. It's forced them to battle for a playoff spot down the stretch that they may have already secured otherwise.
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