Golden Knights’ Mark Stone excited about return to playoffs
Mark Stone remembers his last trip to the postseason well.
The winger scored in Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals, trying to will the Ottawa Senators to their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 2007. His team came up short, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in double overtime, but he’s looking forward to getting another taste of playoff hockey this season with the Golden Knights.
“It’s the best time of year,” Stone said in an interview on the Review-Journal’s Golden Edge podcast. “It’s so much fun to compete in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Obviously I’m biased, but as a hockey player, I believe they’re as entertaining as it gets and as fun to be a part of as it gets.”
Stone wasn’t in line for a playoff berth most of the season. The Senators had the fewest points (49) in the NHL when they traded him to the Knights on Feb. 25.
So he’s thrilled about another chance to play late into April and potentially beyond. He’s also excited about the first-round matchup with the San Jose Sharks because the Senators traded All-Star defenseman Erik Karlsson there before the season.
“They took our best player, so I hate them even more now,” Stone said jokingly.
Schuldt gets acclimated
Defenseman Jimmy Schuldt packed a lot into his first two days as a professional hockey player.
The coveted college free agent from St. Cloud State signed with the Knights on Wednesday, arrived in Las Vegas that night and took a finance exam before nodding off to sleep.
“Got to finish school,” Schuldt said.
Then Schuldt woke up, learned he was one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award (best college player) and went to his first professional practice Thursday morning. He didn’t play Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes, but coach Gerard Gallant said there’s “a good chance” the 23-year-old will make his NHL debut in the team’s regular-season finale Saturday at Los Angeles.
Schuldt is ineligible for the postseason.
“The people here are so great,” Schuldt said. “That’s one of the biggest reasons I’m here. The culture and the people here, they’re so awesome. What they’ve built here in the last two years is incredible. It’s just really cool to be a part of it so far.”
Miller fined
Knights defenseman Colin Miller was fined $2,000 for diving/embellishment, the NHL announced Thursday.
“It’s not fun,” Miller said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
Miller’s second infraction of league rule 64, which attempts to prevent players from flopping to draw penalties, came in the first period of a game against San Jose on March 30. Miller was called for embellishment 5:35 into the game, and Sharks forward Marcus Sorensen was called for interference on the play.
Miller’s first infraction, which resulted in a warning, came Nov. 23 against the Calgary Flames.
Playoff tickets
Knights single-game playoff tickets will go on sale at noon Friday at VegasGoldenKnights.com.
The team expects about 1,200 tickets per game to be available. Tickets are nontransferable and will be available only on the Knights’ website or through the team’s secondary marketplace: VGK Ticket Exchange.
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Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
