When the season started, Mark Stone looked unstoppable with Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev on his line. The trio flowed up and down the ice, bringing new life to the transition game. It's part of why the Vegas Golden Knights had a record of 28-9-3 (59 points) heading into January 8th.
These were promising times, indeed. Everyone was clicking and this became a renaissance of sorts for Eichel. But everything changed when Ivan Barbashev was injured on December 15 with an upper-body injury, leaving him out for a month. Once he came back, he wasn't the same goal-scoring machine of old, not scoring a goal until last Saturday.
But there's one notable difference on the Golden Knights now. Stone isn't on that top line anymore. Instead, he's hanging out with Brandon Saad and Brett Howden, two formidable forwards who bring plenty of offense of their own. Howden has a career-high 16 goals this season while the newly-signed Saad has two goals and an assist in six games.
In his place is Victor Olofsson, who hasn't scored a goal since January 23 against the St. Louis Blues. In fact, he only has two assists during that period, marking an official dry spell. It's not to say that the move doesn't make sense: The Swedish forward has played with Eichel before in Buffalo. Also remember that the superstar center hasn't scored since the 4 Nations Face-Off break, which leaves one question. Should Bruce Cassidy go back to putting Mark Stone on the top line?
Comparing Mark Stone on the top line to Victor Olofsson
If fans want to examine Mark Stone being on the top unit again versus Victor Olofsson, that starts with comparing both players during their time with Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev. That's right. It's time to whip out the ol' Natural Stat Trick and do some comparisons.
Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev with... | TOI | CF% | FF% | SF% | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Stone | 332:55 | 50.15 | 50.52 | 49.52 | 19 | 13 |
Victor Olofsson | 49:46 | 63.06 | 63.41 | 75.00 | 5 | 0 |
Upon first glance, it appears the Swedish forward is a better option moving forward. The Corsi For%, Fenwick For%, and Shots For% all indicate better shot selection. However, this comes in a much smaller sample size. Olofsson only played 49:46 total minutes of ice time, while the Captain played 332:55 in TOI.
But let's look at Eichel for a second since he hasn't registered a single point coming back. Sure, it's only two games. But it doesn't hurt to see how he's done with certain teammates. How does he compare with both players on his line?
Jack Eichel with... | TOI | CF% | FF% | SF% | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Stone | 174:49 | 55.56 | 59.74 | 63.82 | 12 | 2 |
Victor Olofsson | 87:43 | 53.61 | 51.89 | 55.71 | 3 | 1 |
The numbers favor the Calgary native significantly. The superstar center has a higher Corsi For%, Fenwick For%, and Shots For% with the Captain than his ol' Sabres teammate. Yes, the TOI discrepancy shows up again in this comparison. But it's not as severe as the previous table, which showed an overwhelming slant with limited ice time.
If Bruce Cassidy wants Jack Eichel unleashed, put Stone back on the top line
Monday's game against the Los Angeles Kings saw a rare dud from the top line. Ivan Barbashev and Jack Eichel didn't do much substance-wise, which led to the Kings scoring four straight third-period goals. It also gave some foreshadowing to what fans can expect if Olofsson was on the top unit.
If Bruce Cassidy wants his best player unleashed in critical games, he must put his Captain back on that unit. Stone knows how the Golden Knights offense works and can function well in transition. That's part of why he was acquired from the Ottawa Senators. That way, he would bring his two-way game to T-Mobile Arena.
Of course, putting the Swedish forward on the top unit is a mere hope that he'll snap out of his current funk. Only having two assists in the past month doesn't inspire much confidence. Still, familiarity does bring out better play from the best stars in the league. Who knows? Maybe fans will see their franchise player break out with a former Sabre on his right wing.
Perhaps that could be Saad joining the top line. He's looked good so far and has that veteran mindset many teams hope for. Having an offensive-minded player of his caliber could unleash the franchise player. That would be bad news for teams possibly facing the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup playoffs.