Mark Stone didn't need to fight.

The Vegas Golden Knights were comfortably ahead in the third period on Tuesday at Climate Pledge Arena. Stone had already scored a shorthanded goal, assisted on another and reached 400 points as a Golden Knight.

His night could have ended there as another productive performance from Vegas' captain in a convincing 6-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken.

Instead, the temperature changed.

Victor Olofsson, who had scored twice, was hit and subsequently left the game. Stone acknowledged afterward he didn't love the hit, and an exchange with Brandon Montour eventually escalated.

"He had gone on to say some things about our team that I didn't like," Stone said. "I'm not gonna fight too many five-on-threes, but just didn't like some of the things he was saying about our team, and that's what led to it."

So the captain dropped the gloves.

The fight completed a Gordie Howe hat trick - a goal, an assist and a fight - on the same night Stone reached another milestone with the franchise.

Yet afterward, his teammates seemed less interested in discussing the points than what Stone's willingness to fight represented.

"He's a hell of a captain, just a hell of a leader," Rasmus Andersson said. "He's willing to do all the dirty stuff, too."

Jack Eichel needed even fewer words to describe what Stone means to the Golden Knights.

"He's our leader as far as the group goes," Eichel said. "Tons of credit to Stoney. We love seeing that."

Then came perhaps the best indication of how leadership can spread through a bench.

Later in the third period, Ryan Winterton hit Trevor Connelly. This time Marc Gatcomb responded, dropping the gloves with Winterton as a game Vegas had controlled on the scoreboard became a demonstration of teammates answering for one another.

Coach Ryan Craig didn't view Stone's response in isolation.

"Part of the reason he wears the letter he wears on his chest," Craig said. "He stepped up to the challenge there and answered the bell, and you can see the reaction from our group."

Craig also viewed the entire sequence as evidence of something the Golden Knights have emphasized within their room.

"It helps solidify the togetherness of our group," Craig said. "Sticking together, standing up for each other. That's just kind of the way the game went today, but good teams do that."

Stone has never needed to be Vegas' fastest skater or flashiest star to command its dressing room. His game has always been built as much around anticipation, detail and competitiveness as numbers.

But the numbers have accumulated anyway.

Reaching 400 points as a Golden Knight underscored what Stone has contributed since arriving in Vegas. Completing a Gordie Howe hat trick illustrated something less measurable.

Stone leads through participation. If something difficult needs doing, the captain doesn't merely ask someone else to do it.

Andersson saw that firsthand Tuesday.

"We're up five-one on a five-on-three," Andersson said. "It just says a lot about him. He's willing to do all the dirty stuff, too."

Stone ultimately explained the philosophy better than anyone else could.

"This is a close team," he said. "There's a reason why we have success. It's not just because we have good players. It's because we stick together."

On a night Stone reached another offensive milestone, his most telling contribution didn't show up in the points column.

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) and Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour (62) fight during the third period at Climate Pledge Arena.