Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) celebrates after his second goal in the third period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets at T-Mobile Arena Thursday, April 20, 2023, in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights beat the Jets, 5-2.
Published Thursday, April 20, 2023 | 9:59 p.m.
Updated Thursday, April 20, 2023 | 11:55 p.m.
Alex Pietrangelo has played with a lot of great players in his career. He's won a Stanley Cup with a few of them, too.
There aren't many in his mind who can play at an elite level at both ends of the ice like Mark Stone. If anyone needed a reminder of why, it was delivered on Thursday.
The Golden Knights' captain had two goals and an assist in the third period, his first points since returning from back surgery, to help defeat the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 in Game 2 of their first-round series at T-Mobile Arena. The win evens the series at one game apiece.
Stone's three-point third period marked his first appearance on the score sheet since Jan. 5, a week before he injured his surgically repaired back and less than a month before going under the knife a second time.
Stone had a secondary assist on Chandler Stephenson's go-ahead goal at 5:37 of the third, then scored on a feed from Stephenson at 13:01 to extend the lead to two. His second goal came with 2:30 left.
After missing the final 39 games of the regular season and looking rusty in Game 1, Stone returned to his former self with a team-high five shots on goal in 17:47.
"I don’t want to miss this. I want to be a part of it," Stone said. "I said it from since I got traded here: this is the team I want to play for, the team I want to win with, go to war with. It’s the playoffs. Got to take it one game at a time."
Pietrangelo joined Stephenson and Stone with two points, and Jack Eichel scored his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal for the Golden Knights in their bounce-back effort following Tuesday's 5-1 loss in Game 1. William Karlsson scored for the second straight game, as well, and added an assist.
Laurent Brossoit made 31 saves for Vegas, which now heads to Winnipeg for Game 3 on Saturday (1 p.m., ATTSN-RM).
"You want to carry it over, but every game is a refresh," Stone said. "We didn’t play well last game, so you know they’re going to bring it, too. It’s a critical game, and we need to dictate the pace of play."
The Golden Knights needed someone to step up following Tuesday's lackluster effort. It was a game that was uncharacteristic of what made Vegas the top seed in the Western Conference.
The depth that carried Vegas during times when Stone, Eichel and others went down due to injury was on display. Only two skaters — Michael Amadio and Brett Howden — didn't have a shot on goal, but each had an assist. The Golden Knights put 39 shots on Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, a vast improvement from the 17 he faced in Game 1.
The Golden Knights had four penalties in the first period, including roughing calls on Nicolas Roy and Pietrangelo in a 15-second span. Winnipeg, however, couldn't score on the ensuing 4-on-3.
"I think we got it out of our system in the first period," Pietrangelo said. "I think both sides got to their game. You want to play with emotion. You just want to play it the right way."
Vegas needed to respond with its best period of the series to show it had some life. That's what happened.
The Golden Knights outshot the Jets 20-10 in the middle frame and were once again sparked by a goal from Karlsson, who tied it at 5:54 when he secured a loose puck and roofed it over Hellebuyck's left shoulder.
That goal woke Vegas up and its forechecking took over. Every puck battle the Golden Knights couldn't win in Game 1, they started to win in Game 2. Every loose puck that kicked off a skate or stick that they couldn't corral started to land at the right spots.
No moment showed that more at 10:25 when Eichel deflected a Pietrangelo shot from the point to beat Hellebuyck for his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal and the Golden Knights' first lead of the series at 2-1. The play started with Michael Amadio and Jonathan Marchessault keeping the play alive behind the Winnipeg net long enough to feed the puck to Pietrangelo for his attempt.
"You've got to win your battles," Eichel said. "I thought when we started doing that a little more, playing behind them and winning puck battles below their goal line and playing off the cycle, I thought we generated more. It was good to see us get rewarded for a few of those."
Winnipeg got a fourth-line goal from Kevin Stenlund at 16:01 of the second to tie it 2-2, until the Stephenson-Stone combo got to work.
It was a return-to-form for Stone the playoff performer after going eight straight playoff games without a point before Thursday. He had 37 points in 40 playoff games with the Golden Knights before that stretch, and this was his 11th multipoint playoff game since Vegas traded for him in February 2019.
Things seemed bleak for the Golden Knights early. Even with three power plays in the first period, and each looking better than the three in Game 1, it didn't look like the Golden Knights could solve the Jets again.
But the top seed in the West is very much alive, with the captain leading the charge. He'll lead the charge again at a raucous Canadian Life Centre on Saturday where the notorious Winnipeg Whiteout returns.
"This building’s going to be electric there on Saturday night, but we’ve been a good road team all year long," Stone said. "Now we’ve got to find a way to win games in the playoffs on the road."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
