The Vegas Golden Knights crawled back into Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers after going down by two, but they'll finish the rest without Mark Stone after an apparent injury. Stone suffered what looked like a head injury when he fell to the ice and was clipped in the head by a knee from Corey Perry. It was an unfortunate accident for the Vegas captain, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Stone has always been on the bad side of injury luck, but it has been a relatively healthy season for the captain. Losing Stone for any time will significantly hurt the chances of the Golden Knights battling back from their 2-0 hole.

The Oilers stunned the Golden Knights by beating them in the first two games at T-Mobile Arena, while Stone tallied two goals and two assists. Losing two games at home in the playoffs when your captain records four points is a bad sign for the team's chances.

Stone is one of the better defensive forwards in the NHL. He makes up for what he lacks in speed with defensive awareness and elite positioning. He's the type of player who can go toe-to-toe with players like Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in the defensive zone, and those superstars will feel much freer with him out of the lineup.

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Mark Stone is a clutch playoff performer

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) celebrates his goal against the Calgary Flames in the second period at T-Mobile Arena.
Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Stone's postseason history is infamous for non-Golden Knights fans. He is one of the poster boys for salary cap circumvention, as he missed half of the 2023 season but returned in the playoffs to lead his team to their first Stanley Cup. It's easy to disagree with those tactics, but it's hard to argue with Stone's impact on a playoff series.

The captain scored 24 points in 22 games during that 2023 run and is also a point-per-game player this year, with eight points in eight games. In total, he has 85 points in 110 NHL playoff games. The impact this injury could have on the Golden Knights is catastrophic, and Bruce Cassidy and the rest of the team's staff will wait with bated breath for a post-game update.