Unexpected Absences: How Mark Stone and Cale Makar’s Game 2 Sidelines Could Change the Western Conference Final Forever
Vegas Adjusts Without Its Captain
Stone’s absence is different but just as significant. He is one of the league’s best two‑way wingers, kills penalties, works the bumper on the power play, and typically takes heavy defensive zone starts against top lines. Without him, Vegas has redistributed those minutes across its top nine forwards and leaned harder on its centers in the defensive zone.
In Game 1, that approach worked. Vegas used its depth to roll four lines, limit Colorado’s speed through the neutral zone, and attack off turnovers. The challenge now is sustaining that blueprint on the road for a second straight game, with Colorado desperate to avoid flying to Vegas down 0–2 in the series.
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