
LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights will head into their toughest matchup of the two-week-old season with yet another injury.
Captain Mark Stone's apparent wrist injury, suffered during the third period of Saturday's 6-1 win over the Calgary Flames, turned out to be more serious than coach Bruce Cassidy had hoped.
The 33-year-old veteran was place on IR just before Monday night's game against Carolina.
"He won't travel this week, we'll see where he's at after that," Cassidy said after the team's morning skate. "It's an unfortunate loss. It sucks, it really does for him, I feel for him. He's always bounced back well, that's the good news when we do get him back. Whether that's the short, medium, or long term - we don't know yet."
Stone has 13 points this season, just two behind teammate Jack Eichel for the NHL lead.
Stone hit the ice at the offensive blue line early in the third period on Saturday, with television replays showing him in pain while rotating his wrist. The veteran forward skated straight to the bench and eventually went to the locker room. He missed the remaining 14 minutes of action.
The Golden Knights were already missing forward Brett Howden (lower body) and defenseman Noah Hanifian (undisclosed).
With Stone on the shelf, Brandon Saad moves to the top line, where he'll step in at left wing and join Eichel and Ivan Barbashev, who will move to right wing.
On special teams, where Stone is relied upon heavily, Mitch Marner will be inserted into the top power-play unit, stepping in along the goal line, while defenseman Shea Theodore will fill in at the point.
"It’ll be a loss in every area," Cassidy said. "He touches the penalty kill, and obviously down low on the power play.
"This year he’s in as good of shape as he’s been since I’ve been here. It sucks. It really does. I feel for him, but he’s always bounced back well. That’s the good news."