Mark Stone, Alex Pietrangelo miss Golden Knights’ practice

Injuries are starting to pile up for the Golden Knights — and to key players.

Right wing Mark Stone and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo did not practice Tuesday, a day after sitting out a 2-0 loss at the Minnesota Wild. Coach Pete DeBoer said both were still being evaluated.

Stone and Pietrangelo are two of the team’s most important skaters, and their absence was felt when the Knights were shut out for the second time this season. The team will need to adjust if the two miss Wednesday’s series finale against the Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

“Those two guys drive the bus obviously for us,” DeBoer said. “They both have such great resumes and respect in the room, both with what they’ve done but also what they do every day. The way they show up, the way they practice, the way they prepare, how selfless both guys are.”

Stone and Pietrangelo were hurt in Saturday’s 4-0 win at San Jose. Stone left the game in the second period and did not return. DeBoer said Stone didn’t come back for precautionary reasons. Pietrangelo blocked a shot in the final three minutes that appeared to cause him discomfort.

Their absences left the Knights without their highest-paid forward and defenseman. Stone’s contract counts $9.5 million annually against the salary cap, and Pietrangelo costs $8.8 million.

With goaltender Robin Lehner and defenseman Brayden McNabb on long-term injured reserve, the Knights had $25.8 million worth of cap commitments not playing Monday.

But DeBoer refused to use that as an excuse.

“We expect to win on the road regardless of the circumstances, regardless of the injuries,” he said.

No one on the roster can do what Stone does. He leads the team in points and is tied for 12th in the NHL with 27. He is tied for seventh in the league in assists with 21. His ability to knock down and steal pucks slows opposing teams, and his passing leads to easy chances for teammates.

Alex Tuch stepped into Stone’s spot on the top line and created some scoring opportunities. But with Tuch off the third line, the Knights need the remaining players to provide secondary scoring against a deep team such as the Wild.

“Some guys got to step into the lineup and try to do our best to make up for that big loss,” forward Nicolas Roy said. “We had a pretty good game last night, but we have to find a way to get pucks in the net.”

On the blue line, Pietrangelo’s and McNabb’s absence creates a domino effect in which everyone has to step into an elevated role. Pietrangelo leads the team in average ice time (25:27) by 2:33 and has 10 points in 18 games.

The Knights played a stretch of games without Pietrangelo when he was in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols. They will have to draw on that experience again if he remains out of the lineup.

“We just got to stick to our identity no matter who’s in there, right?” defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. “That means moving pucks quick, defending very well, eliminating time and space in our zone and putting the puck in our forwards’ hands as quick as possible.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.