Golden Knights defenseman returns after undergoing appendectomy

Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo returned to a full-contact role Saturday after it was revealed he had his appendix removed.

The Knights open defense of their Stanley Cup in the opening round against the Dallas Stars on Monday.

Pietrangelo missed 13 of the final 15 games of the regular season from what was listed as an illness. He missed six games from March 19-28, returned for two games, then missed the final seven.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon said Pietrangelo had a non-COVID illness, returned to play, then left after morning skate in Arizona on April 5.

“Not much you can really do,” Pietrangelo said. “Just listen to your body. I thought it would be good for a while, but we had kind of a setback. Nothing I can do about that.”

McCrimmon said the information given to him was the illness and Pietrangelo’s appendicitis were not related.

Pietrangelo practiced on the top pairing with Noah Hanifin. The two skated together for five games before Pietrangelo went down.

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.