Stone gets rolling for Golden Knights in Game 2 of Western 1st Round

LAS VEGAS -- The emotion came pouring out of Mark Stone as the puck crossed the goal line, giving the Vegas Golden Knights a two-goal lead.

Sure, the captain was relieved to give his team some breathing room in what would become a 5-2 victory against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. He was overjoyed that the best-of-7 series would be tied heading into Game 3 on Saturday in Winnipeg, his hometown.
But in the moment, he was just glad to be in the fight, to be a contributing as his team competes for the Stanley Cup.
"That silver cup at the end of the road is what motivates every player, right?" Stone said. "I've played a long time in this League. I've been on some great teams, on some playoff] runs and I just want to be part of a team that has a chance to win. You obviously want to contribute to your team, but you just want to keep winning games. We needed this one."
So after he scored what was arguably one of the easiest goals of his career, a simple tap-in of a cross-crease pass from forward Chandler Stephenson, Stone took two steps toward the end boards and then jumped into the air, pounding on the glass, rapturously celebrating with the fans that had stood by him through so many trials and tribulations.
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He hugged his teammates on the ice in a joyous pile behind the goal and then he raced past the bench, slapping gloves with his remaining teammates before high-fiving goalie Laurent Brossoit. With each stride, his smile grew bigger, his gait livelier, a weight slowly being lifted from his shoulders in real time.
It was obvious to anyone who took the time to watch.
His teammates noticed. They know Stone radiates the joy of playing the game, possesses a passion that has delivered him past setbacks that would extinguish the excitement in lesser people.
"We love it," Vegas forward Jack Eichel said. "I mean, you guys all see it and we know 'Stoney' is an emotional guy. It's great to see him back and obviously he had a huge night for us tonight. You know, just to think about all the adversity that he's gone through and everything that he's worked through and battled to get back here and be on the ice with us.
"I can't say enough about him. You know, so happy to see him get rewarded there. He's our captain for a reason. He brings it every night and his emotions run through the team."
It hasn't been easy for Stone, who missed 39 games this season and 45 the previous season dealing with back issues that have clouded the future for the 30-year-old.
Game 1 of this series on Tuesday was his first since Jan. 12, and it showed. His timing was off, and he was a step slow too often. He didn't manage a shot on goal and was minus-3 in 21:28 of ice time. He admitted he was nervous he didn't have the jump to enter the fray when it was being waged at a fever pitch.
It was a different story Thursday.
With the score 2-2 entering the third period, the Golden Knights scored three times. Stone was central to each.

He assisted on a goal by Stephenson at 5:37 that gave Vegas its first lead in the series and proved to be the game-winner. Then, at 13:01, he scored his first playoff goal since Game 5 against the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the playoffs on June 8, 2021, a drought of eight games.
A little more than four minutes later he scored again, his celebration a bit more subdued this time.
Since going to Vegas in a trade from the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 25, in 2019, Stone has scored 20 playoff goals, more than any other Golden Knights player.
Thursday was a performance that didn't surprise those who have been around him for an extended period.
On Wednesday, defenseman Nicolas Hague was raving about the ability Stone possesses to influence a game in a variety of ways.
"He is so skilled and smart," Hague said. "It is the way he approaches everything, and he just makes little plays that a lot of guys don't necessarily see or have the ability to make and he just kind of makes them look easy. He makes our group a lot better."
Making the Golden Knights better, giving his team a better chance to compete for the Stanley Cup, is what motivated him through more than two months of grueling physical rehabilitation as well as the mental peaks and valleys of coming back from a second back surgery in as many seasons.
"Like I said, I mean I don't want to miss this," Stone said. "I want to be part of it. This is the team I want to play for, the team I want to win with, go to war with. So just to be back in there means the world to me."
It showed Thursday.