Even during the NHL preseason, Pacific Division rivalries are cooking. Things got extremely testy during Wednesday night’s tilt between the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings after journeyman Kings checking forward Hayden Hodgson laid a massive hit on Golden Knights captain Mark Stone.
The incident went down midway through the second period when Stone was retrieving a puck in Vegas’ zone. As Stone tried to corral a bouncing puck behind his net, Hodgson came flying in with a heavy but clean hit:
Hodgson’s feet never left the ice and the contact was shoulder to shoulder. A melee ensued nonetheless, with Stone and Brett Howden immediately jumping Hodgson in retaliation.
While the hit was perfectly legal, it was likely the context that infuriated Stone and his teammates. It was a preseason game, and there was Hodgson, 27, seven NHL games to his name and having spent most of his career in the AHL and ECHL, trying to make an impression on his new team, cracking the star captain of a reigning Stanley Cup winning franchise. Stone took major exception and wasn’t shy about it when speaking to reporters after the game.
“That’s probably the last time I’ll ever play against that guy,” Stone said. “Not really much of a player, so I’ll leave it at that.”
Stone, 31, is a two-time Selke Trophy finalist and a key part of Vegas’ success at both ends of the ice. He racked up 24 points in 22 games during last spring’s run to the Stanley Cup. He has battled chronic back problems over the past couple of seasons, however; he played just 80 regular-season games combined between 2021-22 and 2022-23, undergoing two back surgeries over a nine-month stretch during that time period.
The Golden Knights and Kings resume pleasantries on Oct. 7 for another preseason matchup.
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