Analysis from VGK Broadcast Host Daren Millard
You didn't have to be at the front of the Mark Stone mid-January media scrum in Ottawa to be educated as to the significance of the veteran's first game back in Canada's capital city.
In fact, the answer was provided a couple of months earlier in Las Vegas when Stone showcased unbridled emotion before, during and after a shootout victory over the Senators, the only National Hockey League team he had played for before his deadline trade in 2019. Stone was feisty and productive in that October performance, exploding off the bench and celebrating like it was a Stanley Cup playoff game. To quote Stone after the shootout win, "I didn't want to lose that game".
If the first game against the Senators held such meaning, a return to his NHL roots promised to be an event.
Then news broke of a Golden Knights coaching change. Instead of the expected queries about his time in Ottawa, Stone was peppered with questions about Pete DeBoer replacing Gerard Gallant. This night was no longer "Stone's Moment", instead he balanced a deep personal experience with a major organizational moment.
Stone didn't blink.
Off the opening face-off Stone helped setup line-mate Paul Stastny for a goal 34 seconds into the game. An in-arena tribute followed at a first period television time-out, before Stone added a goal in the second frame to his stat line, contributing to an evening that ended with a victory by Vegas.
The night will be remembered more for Peter DeBoer's first VGK victory, but the dual execution of Stones personal and professional abilities was arguably just as impressive.
Stone was a Rock. An example of a franchise player, one who enjoyed the rare experience of playing in front of two teams that feel that way about him.
