Vegas Golden Knights: Theodore makes history, other takeaways from huge Oilers win

Shea Theodore came to the rescue again after the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Edmonton Oilers in a colossal Pacific Division showdown on Monday.

Just a day removed from recording the go-ahead goal in a win over the Calgary Flames, Theodore potted the game-winner in overtime for the Vegas Golden Knights against the Oilers.

Both wins were huge and, as a result, the Golden Knights extended their lead at the top of the Pacific Division to three points with 11 games to go.

The Knights were handed a sizeable boost prior to faceoff at Rogers Place after Oilers superstar Connor McDavid was ruled out because of illness.

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However, despite missing their face of the franchise, Edmonton still landed the first blow of the night after Alex Chiasson set up a screen in-front of Marc-Andre Fleury before redirecting a shot into the net.

Vegas did hit back, though, and it was a tied game at the end of the first period thanks to Nicolas Roy, who deflected a Nate Schmidt slap-shot past Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen.

Both goalies did their bit in the second period to prevent the other team from lighting the lamp, although Ryan Nugent-Hopkins stuck early in the third period to break the tie.

There was still a twist in the tail, however, and the Golden Knights made it a tied game once more after Jonathan Marchessault went top-shelf with a deadly snipe.

Then with 2:13 played in overtime, Marchessault executed the play of the game to shutdown Ethan Bear and strip the puck from the defenseman before dishing a pass to Shea Theodore, who unleashed an absolute bomb past Koskinen for the game winner.

It was a huge and potentially season-defining win for the Vegas Golden Knights, and we had some takeaways from the game…

1. Theodore makes history

We have dedicated a lot of words to Shea Theodore already this week, but you better get used to it because this is just the beginning.

After all, greatness attracts attention and Theodore is certainly playing at an all-time elite level this year.

Despite there being a few weeks left in the regular season, the 24-year-old has already achieved career-highs in goals (13), assists (33), points (46) and power play points (16).

Furthermore, Theodore has also been incredibly effective in his own zone and his average total ice time has spiked to 22:14 per game this year, further underlining his importance to this team.

And Theodore has begun to flash signs of boasting one of the true hallmarks that every great player has in their arsenal – the ability to come up clutch.

After scoring the go-ahead goal in the win over the Calgary Flames on Sunday, Theodore delivered the game-winner in overtime after ripping a hell of a shot past Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen.

In doing so, Theodore became only the 11th defenseman in the last 21 years to score a game-winning goal in consecutive days, joining an illustrious list boasting names such as John Carlson, Seth Jones and Drew Doughty.

That stat perhaps best epitomizes the year Theodore is having and he’s starting to force himself into the conversation when it comes to the best young two-way defensemen in the National Hockey League.

2. Marchessault proves a point

When all is said and done, this has been an inconsistent year for the Vegas Golden Knights and the same applies to some of their big hitters too.

You can throw Jonathan Marchessault into that category who has lurched from one end of the spectrum to the other this season.

While he is fourth on the team in points with 47 (22 goals, 25 assists), Marchessault has endured a few barren spells this year.

For instance, he had recorded just two points in eight games prior to Sunday’s win in Calgary, where he posted a goal against the Flames.

And, against the Oilers in Edmonton on Monday night, Marchessault put together arguably his best performance of the year.

With a huge two points on the line, Marchessault came up clutch in the biggest way possible on two separate occasions.

It started at 11:57 in the third period when Paul Stastny won the faceoff in the offensive zone, Reilly Smith retrieved the puck before sending a pinpoint pass into the slot area where Marchessault was there to hammer the puck beyond Mikko Koskinen to make it a tied game.

But Marchessault’s crowning moment was still to come.

With a couple of minutes having passed in overtime, Oilers defenseman Ethan Bear had the puck on his stick in his own zone and had the opportunity to transition out of the zone.

However, before Bear was even aware of what was going on, he had both Marchessault and William Karlsson swarming around him.

As Karlsson went to go to the net anticipating a possible opportunity, Marchessault continued to hound Bear until he ruthlessly stripped the puck from the blueliner before dishing the puck to Theodore who unleashed an absolute bomb past Koskinen for the game-winner.

It was a real smart hockey play by Marchessault who stepped up to the plate when his team needed him most.