The addition of winger Mark Stone has given the Golden Knights a physical two-way presence on the right side of their second line.
It also gave their first line a kick in the pants.
William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith saw how teammates Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty played with Stone and decided not to get left behind.
“They make us want to be better, too,” Karlsson said. “Thanks to them for showing the way. We want to be just as good as them.”
Karlsson, Marchessault and Smith didn’t want to be a first line in name only, so they’ve raised their play after the trade deadline.