Who has the most single-season game-winning goals for the Vegas Golden Knights?

Mark Stone is a man of many talents. He can play alongside Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev, score on the power play, and has a great two-way game. It's no wonder he's the captain of the Vegas Golden Knights, for he's an essential part of the team's success. That's especially true regarding his output in a single season.

There are memorable years where he was an excellent player, including 2019-20 (42 assists) and 2020-21 (40 assists). But let's go back to that latter campaign for a second. That particular year stands out in that he set a franchise record. Such records are essential to a team's success, helping them win Stanley Cup playoff rounds and titles (take note, Toronto!).

So what was the category that Stone set the franchise record in? What made his 2020-21 season special for Golden Knights fans? Sometimes, you need a special leader to win you games you're not supposed to win. That's where the Captain comes in, for he's specialized for such moments. Here's what franchise record he broke in the 2020-21 season, setting himself apart from the competition.

Mark Stone scored the most game-winning goals for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2020-21

Scoring the game-winning goal is equivalent to landing the knockout blow in a prize fight. You send your opponent flying and they can't get back up. As a result, you win the match and move up in the divisional rankings, even winning a prestigious championship. Mark Stone had plenty of knockout blows in the 2020-21 season, helping the Vegas Golden Knights make the championship round.

That season, he scored eight game-winning goals, a sizable chunk of his 21 goals. But another player had a more noticeable chunk from his total: William Carrier had seven game-winning goals in 2022-23, nearly half of the 16 goals he scored. He tied Jack Eichel for second place, who scored seven in 2023-24.

After that is a tie for fourth among several different players. It consists of a few of the players scoring six:

• Jonathan Marchessault (2017-18)
• William Karlsson (2017-18)
• James Neal (2017-18)
• Jonathan Marchessault (2018-19)
• Alex Tuch (2018-19)
• Reilly Smith (2019-20)
• Max Pacioretty (2020-21)

These players have done an excellent job delivering knockout blows to unfortunate NHL teams. It's equivalent to having 12 Muhammad Ali's on the ice (if Ali was great at hockey. Watch out, Wayne Gretzky), where the team finishes their opponents off in style. But for Mark Stone, it's business as usual as he leads the team into another crucial season, fighting for the Stanley Cup.