Tuesday night in Seattle had all the makings of a blowout long before the final horn. The Golden Knights rolled past the Kraken 6-2 at Climate Pledge Arena, finishing off their short road trip in style and doing something they hadn’t managed there before: run up the score on Joey Daccord.
It was a heavy night for Vegas, and then it got ugly.
Halfway through the third period, with the Golden Knights up 5-1 on the power play, Kraken forward Ben Meyers drove Victor Olofsson into the boards from behind in a dangerous play that left Olofsson needing help to get off the ice. Meyers was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding. Olofsson’s injury immediately turned the mood, and it landed hard because Vegas had been counting on him to help replace the production left by Pavel Dorofeyev’s departure.
Before the hit, Olofsson had already scored twice, pushing him to four goals in four games. He had been giving the Knights exactly the kind of early-season punch they needed, which made the timing of the injury sting even more.
There’s also a familiar chill to it: Olofsson was injured only a few games into his last stint here as well, and that setback cost him roughly 25 games. The next update isn’t expected until Thursday.
The response from Vegas came from an unlikely source. Mark Stone, who is not exactly known for dropping the gloves, answered after Meyers’ ejection and dropped the first fight of his NHL career since his debut in 2012.
Per HockeyFights.com, Stone had just six fights on record before Tuesday. This time, he settled the matter himself.
Stone’s night had already been busy before the scrap. He picked up an assist on Tomas Hertl’s first-period power-play goal, then scored short-handed less than two minutes into the second period. The fight gave him the extra penalty minutes needed to complete the NHL’s first Gordie Howe Hat Trick of the 2026-27 season.
For one night, Seattle saw the full range of Stone’s game: playmaking, scoring, and, when the moment demanded it, fists.
In Other News...
Victor Olofsson Gives Golden Knights Fans A New Reason To Worry
Victor Olofsson keeps showing why the Golden Knights brought him back, and why his start has already become one of the more intriguing early developments around the team. In Thursdays 6-2 win over the Seattle Kraken, he scored twice and now leads Vegas in goals through four games, a sharp opening for a player trying to settle back into a familiar setting after last seasons stops in Colorado and Calgary.
For a team that has leaned on depth and balance in the past, Olofssons quick finish has at least hinted at another layer to the offense. His early production has also revived the bigger conversation around whether this is a short burst or the beginning of a much more meaningful role, which is exactly the kind of question that can linger when a scorer gets hot this fast. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Suddenly Face A Blue Line Concern After Physical Loss
Ryan Lindgrens night ended early after a hit from behind forced the Seattle defenseman out with an upper-body injury, adding another layer of concern to a Kraken group already trying to absorb the physical toll of a hard game. The sequence also left Vegas with its own injury issue, as forward Victor Olofsson was hurt after being boarded by a Seattle player, turning a chippy matchup into one with potential ripple effects for both clubs.
For a Golden Knights team that knows how quickly a lineup can be tested over the course of a road swing, the aftermath matters almost as much as the result. Seattle now has to sort through a blue line situation that was already under pressure, while the broader injury picture across the teams involved could shape how both sides approach their next games. [Read more 🡒]
Mark Stone Showed Why Vegas Trusts Him In That Moment
Mark Stone reached a familiar kind of milestone in Seattle, piling up another reminder of why the Golden Knights keep leaning on him in big moments. He hit 400 points with Vegas while also putting together a Gordie Howe hat trick against the Kraken, scoring, assisting and dropping the gloves in a game the Golden Knights controlled from the start at Climate Pledge Arena.
The fight added a sharper edge to an already one-sided night, coming after Brandon Montours comments about Vegas had set the stage for extra tension. Stones response, and the way teammates and coach Ryan Craig reacted to it, only reinforced the view inside the room that he sets the tone in more ways than one, even if the larger message behind the scrap still lingers a little beyond the final score. [Read more 🡒]