Mark Stone’s return brought back not only his playmaking ability but also his electrifying goal celebrations, which have been sorely missed by the Vegas Golden Knights.
In just his second game back from back surgery, Stone scored two third-period goals and assisted on another, leading the Golden Knights to a crucial 5-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 2, evening the first-round series.
“The big-time players come up in the right moments, and that’s exactly what he did,” Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “I’ve played with many good players, but not many people can do what he does on both ends of the ice. He’s one hell of a leader.”
Chandler Stephenson and William Karlsson each contributed a goal and an assist, Jack Eichel netted his first career playoff goal, and Phil Kessel and Pietrangelo each added two assists. Laurent Brossoit made 31 saves.
Stone’s goals were his first since January, following his back surgery on January 31, allowing him to return just in time for the series.
“I don’t want to miss this,” Stone said. “When I got traded here (from Ottawa in 2019), this is the team I want to play for, the team I want to win with, the team I want to go to war with. So just to be back means the world to me.”
Adam Lowry and Kevin Stenlund each scored for the Jets, with Connor Hellebuyck making 34 saves.
Game 3 is Saturday afternoon in Winnipeg.
“They were the better team tonight,” Jets coach Rick Bowness said. “They deserved to win that game, no question. Did we make it too easy on them? Yeah, we did. That’s disappointing, but we’ll fix it and prepare for Saturday.”
Lowry opened the scoring on a power play at 9:18 of the first period, redirecting Neal Pionk’s shot from the point. This was Lowry’s third consecutive goal in the series, following his two goals in the series opener.
The Jets dominated the first period, outshooting Vegas 17-8. Tensions ran high, resulting in three fights and 18 minutes of penalties.
“In the first period, we weren’t on our game at all,” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Our veteran players pulled us into the fight, and we had an honest conversation about that after the first period.”
The Knights responded strongly in the second period, taking their first lead of the series with goals from Karlsson and Eichel. Winnipeg tied the game at 2 with Stenlund’s goal off a 2-on-1 breakaway with 3:59 left in the period.
Vegas broke open the game with three goals in the third period.
BLOODIED BUT NOT BOWED
The physical toll has been significant for the Jets in the first two games. Morgan Barron required more than 75 stitches after a skate to his face in Game 1, and Hellebuyck took a stick to the helmet from Eichel, leaving him bloodied near his left eye. Moments earlier, Hellebuyck made a crucial glove save on a power-play shot from Stephenson, keeping the Knights off the scoreboard.
PERSONNEL MOVES
Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers (upper-body injury) remained out, with coach Rick Bowness calling him day-to-day. Ehlers last played April 11 but had said he felt ready for the series.
Adin Hill was the Knights’ backup goalie instead of Jonathan Quick, who entered the playoffs as the No. 2 goalie. Hill, who hasn’t played since March 7 due to a lower-body injury, had a record of 16-7-1 with a 2.50 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.
Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb went to the locker room midway through the third period after delivering a big check into the boards.