There were no changes to the available bodies that skated at Vegas Golden Knights practice at City National Arena on Monday.
What that means for the health of captain Mark Stone and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon is undecided, but expect them both to be game-time decisions for Game 1 of the Western Conference final on Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.
Stone and Lauzon both did not practice. Coach John Tortorella did not have updates on either player Monday.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon will meet with the media Tuesday night and could have a definitive update.
Center William Karlsson returned to practice after having a maintenance day on Saturday.
Fast-paced schedule
If you’ve thought the playoffs have gone by quickly, you’re not the only one.
Talking to some players after practice, they’re surprised at how they’ve breezed through the eplayoffs.
Part of that might be due to the lighter travel schedule the Knights have had this year.
Going from Utah, Anaheim and now Colorado is much better than traveling from Minnesota and Edmonton last year.
This series will play every other day, much like the Anaheim series was. The Knights had that odd two-day break between Games 3 and 4 in Utah, but that was the only oddity of this postseason run.
“I felt we started the second round, and it came out pretty quick,” Tortorella said. “It was a hard round — winning one, losing one, and getting it closed out in six. I don’t know what’s good. I know where we’re at as a team right now, and I think we feel really good about ourselves.”
Busy Tuesday ahead
McCrimmon is sure to provide updates on two other situations that are looming over the organization’s head right now.
One is about the team losing a second-round pick, and Tortorella being fined $100,000, for repeatedly not meeting media regulations.
The expectation is the Knights will appeal to try and either rescind the lost draft pick, or reduce it from a second rounder. McCrimmon was not at practice Monday, though it was not indicated if he was in New York meeting with commissioner Gary Bettman or not.
Another hot topic will be the status of allowing former coach Bruce Cassidy to interview with other teams.
The Knights have withheld permission from the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings to talk to their former Stanley Cup-winning coach, according to multiple reports.
Edmonton fired coach Kris Knoblauch on Thursday, while the Kings still have the interim tag on D.J. Smith.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
