Golden Knights captain on track to return from injury soon

Mark Stone looks different from the last time he practiced with the Golden Knights two months ago, which is owed mainly to his short hair.

“There’s guys out there I don’t even recognize, I’ve got to introduce myself to,” coach Pete DeBoer said jokingly.

The Knights captain participated in a full practice Monday at City National Arena for the first time since he was placed on long-term injured reserve in February.

Stone is expected to travel with the team for its three-game trip through western Canada and is listed as a game-time decision for Tuesday against Vancouver.

“That’s as close to our group as we’ve had in a long, long time,” DeBoer said. “Obviously, he’s a critical piece for us. We’ve missed him. Even having him out there, even if he’s not at 100 percent, full-game speed, it’s nice to have him back integrated with the group.”

Stone hasn’t played since Feb. 8 at Edmonton and was skating on his own until Saturday, when he joined the Knights for the morning skate. DeBoer was not on the ice for that, meaning Monday was the first time he’s seen Stone with the main group.

Stone skated on a line with left wing Max Pacioretty and center Chandler Stephenson on Monday. The three have outscored opponents 16-8 at even strength and posted a 52 percent shot share at five-on-five.

Stone remains on long-term injured reserve, and the Knights must clear salary cap space to activate his $9.5 million cap hit.

According to websites CapFriendly and PuckPedia, the Knights have a touch more than $5 million in cap space. It’s believed they can clear the remaining space to activate Stone by placing forwards William Carrier ($1.4 million) and Nolan Patrick ($1.2 million) and goaltender Laurent Brossoit ($2.335 million) on long-term injured reserve.

“When you add guys in the lineup like that, the trickle-down effect is huge for us,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “If you look at how balanced the lines were today, that’s the depth that we’ve built, and it’s good to have everybody back.”

Janmark gets repairs

Forward Mattias Janmark missed Monday’s practice for maintenance but is expected to be available against the Canucks.

Janmark took a high stick to the mouth late in the second period Saturday when he was hit on the follow-through as Arizona’s Andrew Ladd tried to clear the puck out of the zone. No penalty was called.

“He was at the dentist this morning,” DeBoer said. “Should be fine.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.