Shea Theodore scored the game-winning goal with just 1:10 left on the clock, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Sunday night.
Theodore’s decisive shot deflected off Calgary’s Andrew Mangiapane’s stick and sailed past goaltender David Rittich into the top corner for his 12th goal of the season. The Flames had battled back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game earlier in the third period.
“That was huge,” Theodore said. “When a team ties it late, the last thing you want is to give them any points, especially in our division. It was a lucky bounce, but sometimes throwing it to the net pays off.”
Nick Holden added a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights, who reclaimed the top spot in the Pacific Division over idle Edmonton. Tomas Nosek, Max Pacioretty, and Jonathan Marchessault also found the net for Vegas.
“Points are so tight right now, especially with back-to-back games,” Theodore said, referring to their matchup against Edmonton the next night. “We needed this confidence booster heading into a big game.”
Robin Lehner, making his third start for Vegas since being acquired from Chicago, made 19 saves to improve to 3-0-0 with his new team.
“I’m still adjusting a bit,” Lehner said. “But it was a big win, and we battled hard. We didn’t give them too many chances, and even when they tied it up, we stuck to our structure.”
Marchessault sealed the win with an empty-net goal, his 21st, with 18 seconds remaining.
For the Flames, Milan Lucic scored a goal and added an assist, while Dillon Dube and Matthew Tkachuk also scored. David Rittich made 27 saves but has struggled at home, falling to 0-6-1 in his last seven starts at the Saddledome.
“Up until the last few minutes, we did everything we needed to,” Lucic said. “It’s just a tough one. That deflection at the end, you can’t plan for that. He shoots that 100 times, it probably doesn’t go in again.”
Lucic got the Flames on the scoreboard at 8:23 of the second period, slipping a shot between Lehner’s pads. Dube closed the gap with a power-play goal eight minutes later, and Tkachuk tied it with just three minutes remaining, burying a backhand shot after receiving a pass from Mangiapane.
“We came back and showed some fight,” Dube said. “But we have no time to dwell on this loss with how tight the standings are.”
Nosek opened the scoring for Vegas early in the first period, pouncing on a rebound after Rittich stopped Ryan Reaves’ initial shot. Holden doubled the lead with a quick shot from a Nick Cousins pass at 11:49 of the first.
Calgary appeared to cut the lead with a goal by Mikael Backlund, but it was overturned due to goalie interference.
“We started winning more puck battles after that overturned goal,” Lucic said. “We just weren’t doing that in the first 15 minutes.”
Pacioretty made it 3-0 with a power-play goal early in the second, one-timing a pass from William Karlsson past Rittich.
Game Notes:
- Knights forward Mark Stone missed his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury. His older brother, Flames defenseman Michael Stone, was a healthy scratch for the sixth consecutive game.
- Zac Rinaldo returned to Calgary’s lineup after eight games as a healthy scratch, replacing Tobias Rieder.
- Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin left the game early in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.
UP NEXT:
- Golden Knights: Travel to Edmonton for a Monday night showdown.
- Flames: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
