Golden Knights announce major injury updates 2 days before Game 1.

The Vegas Golden Knights have made a major announcement, albeit one that just about everyone around the National Hockey League has been anticipating for some time now.

On Saturday, Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon provided a serious of major injury updates on several players including Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, forward William Carrier, and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. To the surprise of no one, all 3 men have been cleared to be full participants in practice, with the news coming just two days prior to Game 1 of the first round Stanley Cup playoff matchup between the Golden Knights and Dallas Stars.

The news that will of course draw the biggest reaction around the league here is the return of Mark Stone, a return that comes at a time that has once again allowed the Golden Knights to load up their roster during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Due to a combination of Stone's injury landing him on long term injured reserve and the current rules of the collective bargaining agreement, the Golden Knights were able to go out shopping at the trade deadline without fear of going over the cap during the regular season. That shopping spree paid off big time as well with several big additions at the deadline for the Golden Knights including forwards Tomas Hertl and Anthony Mantha as well as defenseman Noah Hanifin.

While opposing teams and their fan bases aren't going to be happy about it, the Golden Knights are simply using the current rules in place to maximize their advantage in the most important games of the year.