For the 7th time this season, the Golden Knights defended home ice with victory. It also happened to be the 7th time Vegas veterans Alex Pietrangelo and forward Mark Stone picked up a point in the same game. Both elder statesmen are on a feverish scoring pace this season, pushing the Golden Knights to the top of the standings.
Everybody was involved. Sometimes, your team gets hot. We might be going through one of those stretches. I’d love to keep this pace, don’t get me wrong. Things are going in for us. We’re making good plays. We’re extending leads. -Bruce Cassidy
The Golden Knights seem to be slowly shifting to the next generation of leaders taking bigger roles on the roster. Mark Stone is not the face of the franchise anymore, Jack Eichel is. In the past six months the organization signed contracts comparable to Alex Pietrangelo’s with two defensemen under the age of 30. Lastly, Vegas chose to free up roster spots by moving on from aging fan favorites Jonathan Marchessault and Alec Martinez.
Call it a change in power, an organizational handover, or simply a progression in leadership. It’s a practice that happens every year in the NHL. For example, Jon Tavares handed his captaincy over to Auston Matthews in Toronto. However, this season Pietrangelo and Stone are making it known they’re not ready to hand the team over any time soon.
One of the more overlooked statistics in hockey is the primary assist. Besides leading the NHL with 18 points, Vegas’ captain also has the most A1’s in the league. Pietrangelo is only a few back with six primary assists and only trails Cale Makar in points among defensemen. Both are on pace for career highs in many categories.
Pietrangelo & Stone 2024-25 NHL Stats
- Points – Stone: 18 (1st) Pietrangelo: 12 (14th)
- Assists – Stone: 13 (2nd), Pietrangelo: 11 (5th)
- Primary Assists – Stone: 8 (1st), Pietrangelo: 6 (7th)
Veteran stars leading Vegas’ 7-2-1 start are allowing newer and increased role players to comfortably settle in. Without any early pressure to score, Vegas’ depth is now pitching in. We’re not even through October and 20 Golden Knight players have recorded a point.
Of course, other teammates are having fantastic starts to the season. Ivan Barbashev and Tomas Hertl have answered any offensive questions fans may have had. Shea Theodore has been heavily visible on the scoring sheet and Eichel has been as advertised. However, when Vegas receives this top-level play from Pietrangelo and Stone they become an incredibly frightening opponent for any team in the playoffs.
And I mean soil your pants type scary. Like how my kids felt tiptoeing through the haunted house at our local Pumpkin Patch. I’ll leave it up to your imagination as to whether or not new pants were needed for either child.
