Saturday night was supposed to mark the return of Original Misfit, Shea Theodore. The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman brought an excellent two-way game to the fold, adding more bite for the Golden Knights. In fact, he even scored a goal as a "welcome back" gift of sorts. However, the other stars were shining bright for Vegas against the St. Louis Blues.
The stars came out for the Vegas Golden Knights, including Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel. Marner had a goal and an assist, while Eichel added a goal in a win. Reilly Smith had a big game himself, despite not having any points. He was responsible for setting up a couple of goals without any problems.
Of course, the Golden Knights gigastars couldn't have done it themselves. The same can be said for Theodore, who was phenomenal in his return. Akira Schmid was great on the ice as well, stopping 17 of 19 shots.
It was another complete game that the Golden Knights desperately needed. You have a team that hasn't had many complete games during the season, yet they've had a couple against the St. Louis Blues this season. With the goaltending coming through and the superstars shining, the Golden Knights are starting to build something big.
So, let's examine how well the megastars did. We all know that Theodore had an incredible game. He maximized his return and even got a goal for his troubles. But he wasn't the only superstar who was shining bright.
Mitch Marner continues to show his tremendous stardom for the Vegas Golden Knights
Everyone knows how great Mitch Marner can be. Even if he makes a mental error, he rebounds emphatically. Watch how he receives the pass and makes his way through the slot for the equalizer.
MITCH MARNER GETS THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS ON THE BOARD IN HIS 700TH CAREER GAME 🤩 #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/jOAAELZQov
— Taylor Rocha (@TaylorRocha) January 11, 2026
That was Marner's 10th of the season, marking a resurgence for the Golden Knights winger. People wrote him off as a goal-scorer, saying that he was nothing more than a primary assist merchant. However, he proved his worth as an offensive weapon.
In turn, it led to an offensive comeback for the Golden Knights after letting St. Louis get the first goal. It was like a role reversal of sorts from the previous game, where the Blues had their comeback against Vegas, who... scored the first goal. Talk about coming full circle.
Jack Eichel gets the welcome back he should've gotten against St. Louis last week
What do you get when you have Reilly Smith on the doorstep and Eichel accompanying him? You get some goal-scoring magic that gave the Golden Knights the lead. That's exactly what happened when Eichel capitalized on some traffic with his 14th goal.
This was the type of game that Eichel wanted in the previous matchup. He had a bizarre history with St. Louis, where he's gone on scoreless benders (eight instances during his career) and has been on fire. Saturday was proof of the latter, where the center has risen to the occasion for Vegas.
In turn, it's a third straight win for Vegas as they start their ascension through the Western Conference standings. If Eichel and Marner start catching fire, that will mean bad news for the rest of the NHL. That could extend to June, where they could hoist their second Stanley Cup.