3 takeaways from Knights’ win: Captain’s return ignites power play
The Golden Knights’ elite power play was anything but when Mark Stone was out of the lineup.
The man advantage cooled off from its 33 percent clip in the first 13 games of the season. The Knights still hold a top-10 power play, but it wasn’t clicking.
So, of course, the power-play magic reappeared once the Knights’ captain returned from his monthlong absence.
Stone had an assist on one of two power-play goals, and the Knights won their third straight, 3-2 over Dallas at T-Mobile Arena on Friday in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference first-round series that the Stars won in seven games.
The 32-year-old right wing logged 19:25 in his first appearance since Nov. 6 after missing the past 14 games with a pulled muscle in his lower body.
“Long layoff, but I felt good going into it,” Stone said. “It’s nice to get back into a familiar spot and play.”
The production wasn’t going to be a problem when Stone returned. Prior to Friday, he had 21 points in 13 games while being one-third of what was considered the best top line in the NHL with center Jack Eichel and left wing Ivan Barbashev.
But coach Bruce Cassidy believed that, even with the possibility of rust, Stone would provide the most impact on a power play that went 6-for-31 (19.3 percent) with Stone sidelined. Stone returning to his bumper position below the goal line would perhaps open things up.
“He gives us a lot of options from (below the goal line),” Cassidy said.
That was the case on the Knights’ first goal, a five-on-three goal in which Stone found center Tomas Hertl in front of the net at 15:23 of the first for a 1-0 lead. The assist gave Stone 13 points (four goals, nine assists) during a personal eight-game point streak.
Though he didn’t have an assist on Eichel’s power-play tally at 15:40 of the second to give the Knights a 2-1 lead, it was still Stone’s presence making the play happen. He tried to jam the puck in from behind the net, but it kicked to defenseman Shea Theodore, who found Eichel for a one-timer from the left circle.
Stone felt the team had good looks on the power play while he was out, but they just weren’t going in.
“I think we can get back to a little simpler,” Stone said at morning skate. “Get some guys to the net. Maybe second chances haven’t been there as much the last couple of weeks. Got to get the puck moving, get it to the net and start retrieving those pucks so the seams open up for us.”
All of that is exactly what happened on those goals.
Center Nicolas Roy also scored, and goaltender Adin Hill made 38 saves for the Knights (18-7-3) in their seventh win in their past nine games. The Knights have allowed three goals during their three-game winning streak.
“I think we’re doing a pretty good job taking away the middle of the ice,” Stone said. “I thought early on, we were a step behind but as the game went along, we just let our goaltender make the saves and he did a good job of that.”
The on-ice portion was a dream start to the season for Stone. Even with him missing a month, he entered Friday as the third-leading scorer on the Knights.
Off the ice, it was another set of games missed for the third straight season. He missed 39 games in 2023 after having his second back surgery in less than a year, then missed the final 26 games of last season with a lacerated spleen.
It’s another “fluky” injury in Stone’s eyes that he’s hoping to put behind him. Defenseman Nic Hague went through a similar situation with a pulled muscle, and Stone used that to learn how to handle it.
One game in, he picked up right where he left off.
“It’s a hard timeline when you’re dealing with muscles and tissues and all that, compared to a broken finger,” Stone said. “It was the first time I had one of those soft-tissue injuries, so the timeline was a little different. But I feel good.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Top of the Hill
It was another stellar performance from the Knights’ goaltender.
Hill improved to 6-1-1 in his past eight starts, and it’s the seventh time he’s allowed two goals or fewer. He has a .937 save percentage in that stretch. Only Minnesota Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson (.942) has a better rate.
There’s no doubt Hill’s recent play is why he was selected to represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. He showed why with another quality outing.
2. Eichel’s first PPG
For all of Eichel’s 39 points this season, now tied for third in the league, his power-play tally was his first of the season.
Eichel had two assists in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Anaheim, becoming the second player this season (Nathan MacKinnon) to hit the 30-assist mark.
His one-timer from below the faceoff dot was a reminder that Eichel is a power-play weapon in other ways.
3. Five-day break
The Knights can now take a breath.
Friday’s win capped off a stretch of 10 games in 17 days, going 7-2-1 dating back to Nov. 20 with three back-to-backs in the schedule.
They’ll get five days off before returning to action Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets to begin a three-game road trip.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
