NHL Buzz: Stone game-time decision for Golden Knights

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Vegas Golden Knights

Mark Stone will be a game-time decision for the Golden Knights against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, TVAS2, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
The forward practiced, taking part in line rushes with Chandler Stephenson and Evgenii Dadonov. He has missed 12 games since sustaining a lower-body injury in a 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 14.
"He's going to come to the rink tonight like he's going to play and we'll make some decisions," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. "… I really don't know yet. We're going to evaluate some things after, have some conversations."
Stone had three assists in two games this season after leading the Golden Knights in assists (40) and points (61) in 55 games last season. -- Danny Webster

San Jose Sharks

Seven players returned to the lineup against the Colorado Avalanche after being removed from NHL COVID-19 protocol.
Forwards Timo Meier, Kevin Labanc and Matt Nieto, and defensemen Erik Karlsson, Jake Middleton, Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic skated this week prior to meeting the Sharks in Denver on Friday.
Coach Bob Boughner is behind the bench after missing five games while in protocol.
"I think the timing will be off a little bit, which is why I want to keep it simple for the first 5-10 minutes," Boughner said of the returning players. "I think these guys are going to get better as the game goes. We can manage the ice time for them a little bit if we see someone that's struggling a little bit. … We have to play a smart team game and allow all those guys to sort of ease into this game a little bit." -- Rick Sadowski

Tampa Bay Lightning

Zach Bogosian returned to the lineup against the Florida Panthers.
The defenseman missed 11 games after he sustained a lower-body injury in a 6-2 opening-night loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 12.
"This was a date that was circled that was probably the first date (for him to return)," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We had all these practices and got to bang around a little bit so he's good."
Defenseman Erik Cernak is week to week after sustaining an upper-body injury in the first period of a 2-1 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
"With Cernak out, to have a little more depth on the right is much needed, so [Bogosian] will help," Cooper said. -- Alain Poupart

Dallas Stars

Braden Holtby is day to day for the Stars because of a lower-body injury. The goalie is 2-4-1 with a 2.54 goals-against average and .918 save percentage in eight games this season.
Anton Khudobin started against the Philadelphia Flyers;
Jake Oettinger
was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League and is the backup.