The Vegas Golden Knights (10-5-7) announced that captain Mark Stone will return to the lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators (11-7-4).

Stone has been out of the lineup since sustaining a wrist injury Oct. 18 against the Calgary Flames and was placed on injured reserve two days later. He returned to practice on Wednesday and is expected to suit up Wednesday night against his former team after missing 16 games.

Stone said he is “ready to go” after skating with the club’s AHL affiliate Henderson Silver Knights.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy recognizes the significance of getting Stone back in the lineup.

“It’s good to have his energy back,” Cassidy said. “He’s good on the bench, he’s a leader. … He makes our team better.”

Stone was off to an excellent start prior to the injury, recording two goals and 13 points in just six games. At the time, he led the league in assists with 11 and was second in scoring and first in power-play points (8).

His presence has been sorely missed, particularly on the man advantage. Through the first six games of the season, Vegas’ power play converted on 37.5 percent of its chances; without Stone, the Vegas power play has clicked on just 17 percent of its attempts.

Though Vegas’ power play has improved in recent games with the addition of Braeden Bowman, it went through a particularly ugly stretch, going 3-for-34 (8.8 percent) in a 10-game span, and has not been the same without Stone.

Stone is expected to return to his spot on the top power play, with Bowman set to move to the second unit. Stone will start the game on the second line with Brett Howden and Mitch Marner, with Cassidy leaving the Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev and Bowman line intact. However, Cassidy said he may move Stone up during the game, calling it “an easy switch.”

The Golden Knights are coming off a disappointing 5-1 loss to Utah but should receive an energy boost with the captain back on the ice.

Stone will face his former team for the seventh time in his career. He has three goals and 11 points in six games against the Sens, who drafted Stone in the sixth round (No. 178 overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He has 233 goals and 647 points in 712 career games with the Senators and Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights swept the season series against Ottawa last year and are 12-1-1 in the all-time matchup.

Projected lineups

Golden Knights
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Braeden Bowman
Mitch Marner — Brett Howden — Mark Stone
Brandon Saad — Tomas Hertl — Pavel Dorofeyev
Reilly Smith — Colton Sissons — Keegan Kolesar

Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin — Zach Whitecloud
Ben Hutton — Kaedan Korczak

Akira Schmid
Carl Lindbom

Senators
David Perron — Tim Stutzle — Drake Batherson
Lars Eller — Dylan Cozens — Fabian Zetterlund
Michael Amadio — Shane Pinto — Claude Giroux
Nick Cousins — Stephen Halliday — Hayden Hodgson

Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Tyler Kleven — Jordan Spence
Nikolas Matinpalo — Nick Jensen

Linus Ullmark
Leevi Merilainen

How to watch

Game 23 of 82: Golden Knights vs. Senators
When: 7 p.m. PT
Where: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas, NV
TV: Scripps
Radio: Fox Sports 98.9 FM