Mark Stone
Stone is the first-line right wing and a first-unit power-play piece for Vegas, and he is producing at a high rate through 15 games, with the main question being whether the finishing holds.
Role
Inside the Rink's 2 November preview for Boston has Stone on line 1 with Ivan Barbashev and Jack Eichel. Its 22 October preview had the same trio, and the Morning Puck page (indexed 18 days ago) shows it too. The same Inside the Rink preview has him on the first power-play unit with Tomas Hertl, Trevor Connelly, Eichel and Mitch Marner, and on the first penalty-kill unit with William Karlsson, Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore. Ice time: he logged 16:17 on 30 October, 20:08 on 27 October and 20:21 on 24 October (Hockey-Reference, last five games). Dobber's Frozen Pool showed this trio at 11:04 of even-strength time against New Jersey on 30 October. The competition for his slot is not clear from what I read. I could not fetch Daily Faceoff's line page, so I have not read what it says today. The Morning Skate Report of 2 November has Stone at 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) and five points short of the franchise scoring lead.
He sits on the top line with Eichel and on the top power-play unit, so he gets the best offensive minutes. Box Score Junkie, via Inside the Rink on 2 November, has him at 55.8% Corsi-for with 64.0 shot attempts for per 60 and 9.5 high-danger expected goals on the ice. The same piece calls his 9 goals on 5.4 expected a finishing edge that keeps him a live scoring option. He was also signed through 2028-29 and scored 73 points in 60 games last season, per NHL.com and ESPN.
He is 34 and has an injury history. NHL.com says an undisclosed injury cost him five playoff games last spring. His 9 goals are well above the 5.4 expected, so some regression is plausible. The line had a bad night on 30 October: 2 shots for and 9 against at even strength in 11:04 (Dobber's Frozen Pool), and Stone was minus-2 in a 5-2 loss to New Jersey. His ice time has also varied, from about 20 minutes to about 16.
Where analysts split
I did not find analysts arguing about Stone, so I am not manufacturing a split. The only open question the evidence points to is whether his goal rate holds against the underlying expected-goal figures. That is my inference from the numbers, not something a source debated.
Research confidence: thin. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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