Mark Stone is still feeling the high.
The euphoria of playing four of the most intense hockey games he’s ever been a part of. The elation of winning a best-on-best tournament while representing his country.
But the Golden Knights’ captain knows that’s going to wear off at some point soon. Reality is going to set in that Stone and some of his teammates just played nearly two weeks of intense hockey, and now have to suddenly reel it back in to prepare for this final stretch of the season.
Stone just doesn’t know when he’s going to hit that wall.
“I may beg for an optional skate or two here,” he said.
It’s back to the NHL grind for the players who took part in the 4 Nations Face-Off over the past two weeks, the best-on-best tournament that saw Canada win the finals 3-2 in overtime against the U.S. on Thursday in Boston.
Stone and goaltender Adin Hill got the best of teammates Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin in a highly emotional championship game that drew 9.3 million viewers on ESPN across the U.S. and 16.1 million from across North America.
That’s coming off the 10.1 million North American viewers who watched the first meeting between the U.S. and Canada on Feb. 15 in Montreal.
It was the first time the NHL allowed best-on-best competition since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Stone’s biggest takeaway was how the hockey world had been robbed of international play.
“It just shows how much it means for guys to represent their country,” Stone said. “Being Canadian, I grew up wanting to win the Stanley Cup, but I really wanted to wear the maple leaf on my chest and play hockey. I’m glad it’s starting to mean just as much to all the other countries as it does for us Canadians.”
Dwarfing NBA
The numbers prove the sports world tuned in. Coming off the heels of the Super Bowl and with the NBA heading into its All-Star weekend, it was the NHL’s chance to shine with the league’s precursor to returning to the Winter Olympics in Milan next February.
The attention that the round-robin tournament garnered sparked dialogue on what the NBA could learn from its midseason classic. The NHL had its top stars taking part, while the NBA’s All-Star Game — which Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James did not participate in due to injury — drew 4.718 million viewers on Sunday, a 13 percent decrease from last year.
“It was great for hockey,” said coach Bruce Cassidy, who was an assistant on Team Canada’s staff. “I think we had a feeling as coaches that it was going to get amped up in a hurry. Just hearing the players talk, I was not surprised that they played at a high level throughout. It’s almost like four Game 7s.”
Eichel, Stone and Hanifin played all four games of the tournament. Right now, they feel good physically.
But there’s the realization that they’re going to need a breather soon. Eichel (21:06) and Stone (19:48) lead all Knights forwards in ice time, while Hanifin (21:14) is third among the team’s defensemen.
“I think our bodies all feel pretty solid for the most part,” Hanifin said. “It’s been a lot of hockey, for sure, for us, and I think mentally it’s been a bit of a grind with all the games.”
Rest considerations
Cassidy acknowledged that rest would be a conversation to be had at some point, whether it happens now or down the road.
“We have to keep an eye on that, because those guys should have a break at some point,” Cassidy said. “In today’s salary cap world and roster size, you just can’t say, ‘Hey, four guys disappear.’ We’ll have to look at it on an individual basis.”
Eichel said he was able to turn the page Friday after getting back home, adding it’s tough to do with how much emotion went into the tournament.
While he also agreed with Stone that a lull could be coming, Eichel said it’s the same wave of going through an 82-game season.
“There’s moments where you feel great physically, mentally, emotionally and everything’s going well for you. Games are coming and things feel easy,” he said. “At the same time, there’s stretches over the course of a season where maybe you’re fatigued, maybe you’re dealing with an injury, whatever it might be, and those games feel tougher. I think it’s only human to have games where you’re not as good as you want to be every night.”
Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
