LAS VEGAS — Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone will return to the lineup for Sunday’s Game 3 of the Western Conference final against the Colorado Avalanche.Stone missed the last five games after exiting Game 3 of Vegas’ second-round series against the Anaheim Ducks with an apparent lower-body injury. The Golden Knights went an impressive 4-1 without him, but are obviously happy to have him back.“It’s huge, obviously,” defenseman Noah Hanifin said. “His talent speaks for itself. Just to have him back in the room, and get his voice back, is going to be huge for our team.“Any time he comes back, it’s like he didn’t miss a beat, so it’s good to have him back in the lineup.”In the opposing locker room, Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar’s status for Game 3 remains up in the air. Asked whether the two-time Norris Trophy winner would play Sunday, a grinning Avs head coach Jared Bendnar responded, “We’ll have to wait and see.”The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche face a near must-win game, trailing the Golden Knights 2-0 in the Western Conference final.Makar hasn’t played in the series since aggravating an apparent upper-body injury in Game 5 of Colorado’s second-round series against the Minnesota Wild. He left the game temporarily but did return. He also briefly left Game 1 of that series after a collision. Makar has been skating, mostly on his own, throughout the conference final, but sat out Games 1 and 2. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said the decision on when to return would be Makar’s, and Makar’s alone.