Mark Stone barrelled right over linesman Kyle Flemington Tuesday night as the Golden Knights hosted Ottawa.
That one moment tells you plenty about the kind of game this has been.
Linesmen spend all night trying to stay out of the way. Every so often, the way finds them.
The Vegas forward came into the night with 15 points through 13 games.
Two of his eight goals have come shorthanded.
Working the lines in a game like this is like directing traffic in the middle of a demolition derby.
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Golden Knights, 5-2-0 at home, try to snap three-game skid against Senators
Vegas walked in having dropped three straight, the last one an overtime loss in Columbus on Saturday.
Ryan Craig's group still sat at 8-4-1, with a +9 goal differential.
Home has been kind to them. The Golden Knights were 5-2-0 in their own building before puck drop.
Ottawa arrived at 8-4-0 after a 7-4 win over the Rangers on Saturday.
Stone plays heavy, and on a night when his team needs a jolt, nobody in Vegas wants him easing off.
But the officials deserve a little more appreciation. They skate in the same traffic with a lot less protection and none of the glory.
At $9,500,000, the veteran is paid to drive play, and he had four points over his last five games coming in.
Kelly McCrimmon built this roster to play exactly this way, heavy and hard on the puck.
Was that the moment the night turned? Hard to say yet, but it's the one everyone in the building will remember.
This is also the first of two meetings between these teams this season, with the rematch in Ottawa.
The Senators head to Los Angeles on Thursday, while Vegas hosts New Jersey on Friday.
If the skid keeps going, Flemington won't be the only thing Vegas runs into this week.
Was Mark Stone's collision with Kyle Flemington just part of the game?
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