Mark Stone scored a natural hat trick in the third period as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Calgary Flames 6-2 on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena. Jack Eichel finished with a goal and two assists, and Ivan Barbashev added three assists to help Vegas improve to 7-2-0.
The Golden Knights broke the game open with three straight third-period goals from Stone, turning a one-goal game into a rout. Calgary’s Jake Middleton scored the Flames’ first goal on a short-handed odd-man rush in the second period, and Matt Coronato added a late power-play goal, but Dustin Wolf and the Flames could not keep pace. Calgary fell to 1-6-0 after coming off a 4-2 win at Anaheim on Tuesday.
Takeaways From Golden Knights’ Win Over Flames
Stone takes over in the third
Vegas led just 3-1 heading into the final period before Stone turned the game into a blowout. He tapped in a backdoor pass from Eichel at 1:06, swatted home a rebound at 12:10, and capped his night with a snap shot at 16:13 to make it 6-1. It marked the second career regular-season hat trick for Stone, who previously accomplished the feat on Jan. 15, 2024, according to NHL.com.
Vegas struck early and often
Brett Howden opened the scoring just 25 seconds into the game, taking a backhand stretch pass from Mitch Marner into the left circle and roofing a shot past Wolf’s glove. Jack Eichel made it 2-0 at 9:34 with a short-handed breakaway goal after intercepting a pass from Calgary’s Yegor Sharangovich, beating Wolf glove side. The Golden Knights have now won six of their past seven games.
Calgary’s power play couldn’t offset its defensive issues
The Flames went 1-for-2 on the power play and even scored a short-handed goal through Middleton, who cut the deficit to 2-1 early in the second period. But Vegas answered right back on the same power play just 48 seconds later when Braeden Bowman buried a one-timer from the right circle off a Barbashev feed to restore the two-goal cushion. Calgary’s inability to hold momentum defined its night.
Player Of The Game: Mark Stone
Stone finished with three goals on four shots, posting the game’s top point total with three. His third-period outburst, a tip-in, a rebound finish and a snap shot, accounted for half of Vegas’ scoring on the night.
Golden Knights Vs. Flames By The Numbers
Vegas outshot Calgary 33-30. The Golden Knights converted 2 of 5 power-play chances for a 40% clip, while Calgary scored once on two opportunities. Carter Hart made 28 saves, while Dustin Wolf made 27 saves for Calgary.
What’s Next
The Golden Knights sit atop the Pacific Division with 14 points and hold a 1-0 lead in the season series against Calgary. The Flames remain last in the division at 2 points.
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