Golden Knights center Jack Eichel day-to-day with lower-body injury

The Las Vegas Golden Knights have a chance to clinch the Pacific Division for the third time in their six-year history, but they are trying to do so without their top center in the lineup.  

The team announced (Twitter link) that Jack Eichel is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. That injury concern kept him out of the lineup for Saturday afternoon's matchup with the Dallas Stars.

The 26-year-old center has had a solid first full season in Sin City, notching 27 goals and 38 assists across 66 games while leading the team in scoring. For as reliable as he has been when healthy, this weekend sidelining is the third separate instance in which he has missed time due to injury. Earlier in the season, he dealt with a pair of lower-body issues.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference:

• On Friday, Dallas Stars winger Mason Marchment returned to practice as he works his way back from a knee injury, reports Saad Yousuf of The Athletic (subscription link). Stars head coach Peter DeBoer indicated that he is hopeful that the 27-year-old will be able to play at least once before the playoffs start.  With the Stars in the middle of a three-way battle for seeding in the Central, Marchment's return would certainly be a welcome one.  Marchment has 12 goals and 19 assists in 67 games this season, his first in Dallas.
• Wild winger Mason Shaw will have his ACL surgery next week, relays Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). It will be the fourth such procedure already for the 24-year-old Shaw.  The recovery timeline on such surgeries is typically eight to nine months, which means he likely won’t be available for training camp in the fall -- but will be tendered a qualifying offer this spring.  Shaw finished with 17 points and 87 hits in 59 games this season.