Stone doing it all for Golden Knights in playoffs following injuries

LAS VEGAS -- To the surprise of no one around the NHL, Mark Stone was right in the middle of the play that led to Brett Howden's overtime goal Friday.

The Vegas Golden Knights captain was in the high slot and got the primary assist on the goal that ended Game 1 of the Western Conference Final 95 seconds into overtime and gave the home team a 4-3 win against the Dallas Stars at T-Mobile Arena.

Game 2 is at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ABC, CBC, SN, TVAS).

"When he's on the ice, he's unbelievable," Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "You don't have a lot of guys in the NHL that make everybody else on the ice look good, and he's the kind of guy that everybody on the ice looks good when he's there."

That Stone is on the ice in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is a testament to his perseverance and ability to recover.

RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs Stars series coverage]

He had his first back surgery a year ago Friday, on May 19, 2022. As promised at the time, he was ready for the start of the regular season.

Stone played in the first 43 games and had 38 points (17 goals, 21 assists), but on Jan. 12, he sustained another back injury and two-and-a-half weeks later, it was determined he would need another surgery, which he had on Jan. 31.

The Golden Knights found ways to win without Stone for the last three months of the regular season. To say they would be three wins from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in six seasons without Stone's contributions in the playoffs would be a stretch.

He has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 12 playoff games.

Stone was a huge contributor offensively in the first round with eight points (three goals, five assists) in five games against the Winnipeg Jets.

He had four points (two goals, two assists) in the second round, but it was his contributions in areas all over the ice that helped the Golden Knights eliminate the Edmonton Oilers in six games.

And there he was in the high slot in overtime Friday, getting the puck from Chandler Stephenson and quickly finding Howden to set up the goal.

"I guess the biggest thing he brings is those plays he makes at crucial times," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "It's in the moment that he makes plays that other guys can't. We missed that. Guys can still go fill in and score a few goals or kill a penalty, but the emotional lift when he does it, I do believe when good things happen with Mark there is a noticeable lift. We see it. It's infectious. That to me is the biggest difference for what he does for us. He just has a way of making other players around him better and that's what the best players usually do."

Stone was injured in the first period of a 4-2 win against the Florida Panthers on Jan. 12. The Golden Knights called it an upper-body injury at the time. Stone didn't think it was too serious.

"When I got hurt, I knew that I had a week or two to rehab and I'd get back to playing the rest of the season," Stone said. "That rehab didn't go well."

Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said the team found out Stone would need surgery on Jan. 28, as they were preparing for their last game before the All-Star break at the New York Islanders.

"We found out that morning that Mark's back had failed doing something pretty routine and it just forced our hand in terms of what the next steps were with him," McCrimmon said. "He was having surgery."

Stone had the surgery three days later. It was performed by Dr. Chad Prusmack, the same surgeon who performed Vegas center Jack Eichel's artificial disk replacement surgery on Nov. 12, 2021.

Soon after the surgery, Stone set a goal to be back in time for the playoffs.

The Golden Knights had won one of eight games without him (1-5-2), dropping to third place in the Pacific Division at the All-Star break.

"I knew that the first possibility that I could get cleared to play would be potentially the start of the playoffs," Stone said. "I made a decision to get the surgery and I worked hard. I didn't just hope for a rehab. I worked hard for it. I wanted to be a part of this. And it's paid off."

The Golden Knights found their way without Stone, going 22-4-5 after the All-Star break to finish first in the Western Conference with 111 points.

It's clear in the playoffs, though, how much better they are with him out there lifting sticks on a backcheck to stop a scoring chance against, creating scoring chances for with sneaky stick plays and smart positioning, and having his emotions pour out when he celebrates the successes.

"That's what I've learned most about him, how dangerous he can be," said Cassidy, who said he didn't know Stone before he was hired by Vegas prior to the season. "When you think of players it's the flashy guys that your eyes go to first, but he's not that flashy guy. He's just a guy that gets it done. At the end of the night, he's on the scoresheet. He's not a guy you're sitting there noticing all night until he makes his play. Some guys bomb around all over the ice, they have the puck and it doesn't always materialize. Seeing him on the scoresheet at the end of the night, seeing him impact the game with his little details is what I've learned. It's all just hockey IQ stuff.

"We won games without Mark. We kept playing, but he's an impact player, so that's what's different. The guy going in for him, he can give you some of it but he's not going to give you all that Mark Stone brings."