Mark Stone’s third-period hat trick powers Vegas past Calgary

Mark Stone scored three straight goals in the third period as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Calgary Flames 6–2 at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday, October 15. He beat Dustin Wolf with all three of his shots on goal, turning a 3–1 intermission lead into a 6–1 advantage.

The first two finishes came from the edge of the crease. His third followed a power-play entry by Jack Eichel. Stone reached the net to complete the first passing play, stayed close enough to collect a loose puck on the second, then found room for a shot as Eichel drove deep on the third.

Three finishes in the third

Stone began at 1:06 when Ivan Barbashev moved the puck to Eichel, who sent it across to Stone beside the net. Stone needed only a touch to redirect the pass past Wolf for a 4–1 lead. Barbashev and Eichel had moved the puck through the neutral zone and into the attacking end before the final pass reached the goalmouth.

At 12:10, Barbashev held the puck under pressure along the boards and found Stone, who moved it back to Noah Hanifin. Hanifin’s shot was blocked, but he stayed with the loose puck and knocked it to Stone coming out from behind the goal line. Stone chipped a backhand across the line for his fifth goal of the season.

Eichel set up the third at 16:13. After taking Mitch Marner’s drop pass, he carried into the Flames’ zone and drove below the faceoff circle. He sent the puck back to Stone before going behind the net, and Stone beat Wolf high with a snap shot. The power-play goal made it 6–1 and completed the natural hat trick.

Barbashev finished with three assists, having also set up Braeden Bowman’s power-play goal at 11:03 of the second period. Eichel had a goal and two assists. Calgary’s Jake Middleton scored shorthanded in the second period, and Matt Coronato added a power-play goal at 18:40 of the third.

From a sixth-round pick to a Cup captain

Ottawa selected Stone 178th overall in the sixth round of the 2010 NHL Draft. By the end of Thursday’s game, he had accumulated 265 goals and 453 assists for 718 points in 775 regular-season games.

Vegas named Stone its first captain on January 13, 2021. In 2023, he became the first player selected in the sixth round or later to captain a Cup winner, according to the NHL’s championship review. He completed that title run with a hat trick in Vegas’ 9–3 win over Florida in Game 5 of the Final on June 13, 2023.

Stone finished the 2023 playoffs with 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 22 games. His career postseason totals through the 2026 playoffs stand at 48 goals and 49 assists for 97 points in 129 appearances.

Thursday’s hat trick doubled Stone’s goal total for 2026–27 from three to six. He finished the night with 11 points through nine games, following a 2025–26 regular season in which he scored 28 goals and added 45 assists for 73 points in 60 games.