- Victor Olofsson was helped off after a boarding hit from Kraken forward Ben Meyers
- Mark Stone answered by dropping the gloves with Brandon Montour
- Read below for video of the hit, the fight, and Montour’s blunt explanation
The Golden Knights might be without their hottest scorer after an ugly hit in Seattle.
Victor Olofsson was helped off the ice at 8:03 of the third period Tuesday after Kraken forward Ben Meyers drove him into the boards from behind. Vegas was already up 5-1 and on the power play. Meyers got a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct.
Take a look at the hit:
Jack Eichel and an athletic trainer had to get Olofsson to the bench. He had scored twice before the injury, giving him four goals in four games to start the season.
Head coach Ryan Craig was asked about Olofsson after the 6-2 win:
“He’s getting evaluated now,” Craig said. “We never want to see anyone leave like that. And Oly’s been off to a great start for us. You can see him shooting the puck in the net, finding ways. That line has been pretty good, and he’s a big part of that. We hope he’s gonna be okay.”
Vegas didn’t wait long to respond. Just over a minute later, Mark Stone dropped the gloves with Brandon Montour during the 5-on-3 that followed.
Check out the fight:
Stone isn’t a fighter. He had only six NHL fights on his record coming into Tuesday. He’d already set up Tomas Hertl’s first-period power-play goal and scored shorthanded early in the second, so the scrap gave him his first career Gordie Howe hat trick.
Afterward, Stone explained what set him off:
“I’m not gonna fight too many 5-on-3s, but I just didn’t like some of the things he was saying about the team,” Stone said.
Montour’s version was a lot more honest. He talked about why he went looking for Vegas’ captain in the first place:
“You expect in a 5-1 game that maybe their leader will step in and protect his teammate, and he didn’t,” Montour said. “It felt like that was an opportunity for me to get under his skin. Good for him to step in and take me on.”
Watch Montour’s full explanation:
Things stayed nasty from there. Marc Gatcomb and Ryan Winterton fought after Winterton flattened Trevor Connelly, and the two teams combined for 65 penalty minutes. At one point Vegas had four guys sitting in the same penalty box:
Asked about the crowded box, Stone kept it light. “I think the guys just wanted to come see me,” he said.
Eichel finished with four points and leads the NHL in scoring. Stone also hit 400 points as a Golden Knight, getting there in 404 games, the fastest in franchise history.
Next up is a Thursday home game against the Maple Leafs, and an update on Olofsson isn’t expected before then.
