Minnesota trip rekindles memories of pause for Golden Knights

“Not the greatest memories, obviously, with what’s gone on in the world in the last year,” he said Monday.

During the Knights’ last visit to St. Paul, Minnesota, the NHL suspended the regular season because of the coronavirus pandemic and the game against the Wild was never contested.

Returning to Xcel Energy Center almost exactly one year later for a two-game series against Minnesota was a surreal experience for DeBoer.

“Nice to be back playing tonight instead of going on a pause,” DeBoer said after the morning skate. “I think good things (are) on the horizon with life getting back to normal here hopefully sooner than later.”

Last season, the Knights flew to Minnesota and were scheduled to play the Wild on March 12. The night before, the NBA halted play when Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19, and the sports world went on red alert.

The Knights did not hold a game-day skate on the morning of March 12 as they awaited an official announcement from the NHL. The team flew back to Las Vegas that night expecting to resume playing in a few weeks.

The league eventually canceled the remainder of the regular season and staged the postseason in two hub cities in Canada almost five months later.

“I remember the morning after we still prepared to play that game, but pretty quickly we found out that there was not going to be a game,” Knights center William Karlsson said. “It was going to be two weeks. It was a long two weeks. I still have a pretty good memory of those two days.”

Stone first star

Right wing Mark Stone was named the NHL’s first star for the week ending March 7 after he had 10 points in four games.

The team captain became the second player in the past 25 years to record five primary assists in a game during a 5-4 come-from-behind overtime victory over Minnesota on March 1.

Stone produced a goal and an assist in the third period Wednesday to help the Knights pull away for a 5-1 win over the Wild.

He added two assists, including one in overtime, in a 5-4 victory at San Jose on Friday and scored the game-winning goal in Saturday’s 4-0 victory over the Sharks before exiting in the second period with an injury.

Stone leads the Knights with 27 points (six goals, 21 assists) and is tied for second in the league in game-winning goals (four).

“He sets a tone every day with his work ethic and his professionalism,” DeBoer said. “His play on the ice is at a level that really forces everyone around him to show up and try and compete at the same level he’s competing at.”

Silver Knights postponed

The Silver Knights’ game Monday at the Colorado Eagles was postponed because of COVID-19 protocols affecting the team.

The game was to be the finale of a three-game series in Loveland, Colorado. No makeup date was announced.

This was the first regular-season postponement for the Silver Knights. They are next scheduled to play Saturday at Ontario, California.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.