Golden Knights hoping Lehner, Stone return for wild card push
GM says injured goalie 'real close,' forward out 'a little longer' with back issue
Lehner hasn't played since March 8 because of a lower-body injury. Stone hasn't played since Feb. 8 because of a back injury.
"Lehner, I think, is real close," general manager Kelly McCrimmon said at the NHL GM meetings Monday. "He was on the ice today. He was on the ice last week. I would think by week's end he'd be able to play. Stone's going to be a little longer than that.
"The thing with Stone that we were kind of told right from the start is, 'You know, just because you're giving us this chunk of time, there's no guarantees.' It's not like with a broken wrist. It's not like anything that you can quantify the return date. It's a little tricky, so the best I can say is we're hopeful and expecting that but can't tell you that it's going to happen."
Vegas is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since joining the NHL as an expansion team in 2017-18.
The Golden Knights (36-28-4) hold the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. They are one point ahead of the Dallas Stars, who have four games in hand; two points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets, who have one game in hand; and three points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks.
Their next game is at the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; TNT, NHL Live).
"I don't spend a lot of time on the math of the others," McCrimmon said. "I just know ourselves that we kind of think that likely 10-4 [over the final 14 games] is what we need to get to."
There has been some good news.
The Golden Knights acquired center Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 4, and Eichel had an artificial disk replacement, a surgery never done before on an NHL player, Nov. 12. He debuted for Vegas on Feb. 16 and has scored 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 20 games.
"He does a few things every night that no one else in the rink can do," McCrimmon said.
Defenseman Alec Martinez returned in a 5-4 overtime win at the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday; he hadn't played since he was struck in the face by a skate blade Nov. 11.
But forward William Carrier left with a lower-body injury Saturday, adding to the list that also includes goalie Laurent Brossoit; defensemen Nicolas Hague and Brayden McNabb; and forwards Brett Howden, Max Pacioretty, Nolan Patrick and Reilly Smith.
McCrimmon said the Golden Knights have lost about 400 man games and counting. Asked if anyone would not return in the regular season, he said yes but declined to identify anyone.
"For me as a manager, one of the biggest challenges is the proper perspective," McCrimmon said. "You have days when you overrate your team, days where you underrate your team, and you have to, probably more so than most people in the organization, have the ability to sort of step away and be objective with what you're dealing with.
"We do that, but that doesn't make us any less disappointed if we don't get a good result or when we don't ice a full lineup, or we've got six [American Hockey League] players playing or whatever. We don't have the market cornered on misery. Every team in the League has challenges. We have ours. That's what ours have been this year."
Vegas is tight against the NHL salary cap. Asked if the NHL had raised the issue of the Golden Knights manipulating the roster via long-term injured reserve, McCrimmon said: "Not once. In no way shape or form." He said they will manage if players become healthy enough to return.
"We haven't played a game yet where we weren't compliant, and we'll continue to do so," McCrimmon said. "I don't quite understand the salary cap questions. They seem to fascinate people, but every team has to be compliant."
McCrimmon declined to comment on what happened with forward Evgenii Dadonov, whom the Golden Knights traded to the Anaheim Ducks before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline on March 21. The NHL invalidated the trade Thursday because it wasn't compliant with a limited no-trade clause in his contract.
Dadonov rejoined the Golden Knights and scored five points (two goals, three assists) in two games, including the OT winner Saturday. He has five goals in his past four games.
"He's handled it very well," McCrimmon said.
