Knights’ Stone says he was tripped on play that injured Stars defenseman

As if the Golden Knights’ rivalry with the Dallas Stars needed more fuel to the fire.

Captain Mark Stone’s tripping penalty on Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen at 7:56 of the third period was a chaotic moment that proved to be the turning point in the Knights’ 4-3 overtime loss Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena.

Stone was called for the infraction when his body went headfirst into Heiskanen’s knee. A mass scrum ensued in the Dallas zone, and Heiskanen had to be helped down the tunnel.

Stone was called for a minor penalty that the Knights killed, but Stars center Wyatt Johnston tied it 3-3 at 11:54 with his second goal. Johnston, 21, scored the hat trick goal 20 seconds into overtime to end it.

Looking at the play live, it appeared Stone connected on Heiskanen while trying to make a diving poke check. One angle on the ESPN broadcast, however, shows Stars center Roope Hintz clipping Stone’s left skate and causing him to lose balance.

Stone reaffirmed that stance.

“I’m looking to angle him out and get a change, to be honest,” Stone said. “I go to reach to try to angle him out, and I’m not sure who it was tripped me as I was falling forward.

“You never want to see guys get hurt. I really hope he’s all right. But I was just trying to make a play and got tripped into him. I hope the outcome is good, but there was no intent there. I was just trying to make a play on the puck, and their guy tripped me into him headfirst. I would never dive headfirst into a guy.”

The first eight minutes of the third period were low-event hockey that has become common in Knights-Stars matchups, especially in close games.

Dallas appeared to find new life after the penalty.

“I think it kind of pissed them off more than energized them, I’d say,” Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger said. “When you lose a guy like that on a play like that, it’s pretty unfortunate.”

The 25-year-old Heiskanen is one of the best defensemen in the world with 283 points in 475 games, though he’s having a down year offensively with 25 points in 50 games.

He’s still the Stars’ top defenseman in all situations, averaging 25:10 in ice time per game.

Dallas coach Pete DeBoer didn’t have an update on Heiskanen. The former Knights coach from 2020-23 said he doesn’t feel his former captain is a dirty player, but the repercussions should have been more than a two-minute minor.

“I’ve coached Mark Stone. He’s not a dirty player, He’s not trying to hurt anybody, and I know that,” DeBoer said. “But that doesn’t mean they can’t call a (five-minute major) or at least look at it. That was my argument.”

The Knights had a 3-1 lead early in the second period and appeared to be in control before Johnston’s natural hat trick flipped the game.

It’s also not the first time Johnston has won games against the Knights. He scored four goals in Dallas’ seven-game series win in the first round last season, including the overtime winner in Game 3.

Something may need to give if these teams meet in the playoffs for a third straight year this season.

“(Heiskanen’s) a great player. He’s a great guy,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “A ton of respect for the way he plays. But the way we saw it, Stoney got tripped and kind of lost his balance.”

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Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.