Golden Knights captain Mark Stone will travel for the upcoming three-game Canadian road trip and could return to the lineup Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks, coach Pete DeBoer said.
Stone was a full-contact participant at practice Monday, skating on the third line with Max Pacioretty and Chandler Stephenson. Stone initially appeared to be filling in for Mattias Janmark at right wing but was a participant in power play drills, an indication he is close to returning.
Janmark did not practice Monday after having dental work following a stick to the mouth Saturday against Arizona. He is expected to be available.
"That's as close to our group as we've had in a long, long time," DeBoer said. "He's a critical piece for us, and we've missed him. Even having him out there, even if he's not 100 percent at full game speed, it's nice to have him back and integrated into the group."
Stone has dealt with a back injury that forced him to miss numerous stretches this season. He was shut down following the Feb. 8 game in Edmonton and was placed on long-term injured reserve the following week.
Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said on Feb. 14 that Stone had seen six specialists during the season to get to the bottom of an issue that has been plaguing him since last year's playoffs.
For Stone to be available Tuesday, salary cap maneuvering will need to be done.
According to CapFriendly, the Golden Knights would need to move $4.495 million more to activate Stone after placing forward Brett Howden and defenseman Nic Hague on LTIR.
Laurent Brossoit ($2.325 million), William Carrier ($1.4 million) and Nolan Patrick ($1.2 million) could be moved to LTIR to make Vegas compliant with the salary cap. DeBoer said none of those three will be on the trip.
Brossoit has not played the last 12 games due to an undisclosed injury. Carrier has missed the past five games with an injury DeBoer said did not "look good," and Patrick (undisclosed) has missed the past six games.
"When he's not playing, it's obviously a big loss, and when he does, he's got a huge impact," defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said of Stone. "When you add guys in the lineup like that, the trickle-down effect is huge."
Stone's potential return comes at a crucial time. The Golden Knights are two points behind the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division with a game in hand. Vegas also trails the Dallas Stars by two points for the second wild card position, but Dallas has a game in hand.
The Golden Knights will play crucial division games in Calgary (Thursday) and Edmonton (Saturday) that could potentially decide their postseason fate. Pending health, Stone, who has 28 points in 28 games this season, could help with that.
"I think we all know the situation," DeBoer said. "I will say we're not going to make or miss the playoffs in the next five days. However it goes, we've got to make sure we manage the fact that I think this is going to come down to the last couple games of the season."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.