VGK Play of the Day: Stone's End-To-End Rush in Florida

When the Golden Knights hit the ice to take on the Florida Panthers on Feb. 6, the team was coming off a solid effort against the Tampa Bay Lightning two nights earlier but didn't get a favorable result.
Head coach Pete DeBoer said he was happy with the team's effort despite the loss and expected Vegas to come ready to play against the Panthers. Mark Stone stepped up in a big way for the Golden Knights and provided an assertive effort that resulted in today's Play of the Day.

Analysis from VGK Color Analyst Shane Hnidy
Let's look at Mark Stone's goal against Florida. First of all, the whole game was a dominant performance where Stone was at another level with a five-point night. He's the first and only Golden Knight to his five points in a game.
This goal starts in the defensive end with a really good stick by Nate Schmidt on a bouncing puck in front of Marc-Andre Fleury. Stone, the low man on the play, is in good defensive positioning. He starts almost on the goal line in his own end and comes up the ice. Chandler Stephenson does a nice job; he's high up the ice and backs off the defenders of the Florida Panthers. They're at a standstill at the blueline.
There's a move that Stone makes as he's coming up the ice. He takes a look to his left and that freezes Aaron Ekblad the defenseman for Florida and it pushes him outside the faceoff dots. That opens an inside lane for Stone as he makes a great move around Mike Matheson.
He comes in all alone on Sergei Bobrovsky and then makes a great finish as he goes upstairs glove-side. This is an end-to-end rush, a highlight-reel goal and it shows the respect that Stone gets. People don't always realize that his long reach is so deceiving as it allows him to weave through four defenders sitting back for Florida. Stone finds a way through for a great finish and a beautiful goal.