Theodore’s OT heroics lift Golden Knights past Oilers

EDMONTON, Alberta — It’s impossible to know what will happen over the final 3½ weeks of the regular season, but if the Golden Knights win the Pacific Division title, they’ll owe much of it to Shea Theodore.

The defenseman had the winning goal for the second straight night, and the Knights rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory over Edmonton on Monday at Rogers Place.

Theodore’s goal 2:13 into the overtime pushed the Knights’ lead in the Pacific Division to three points over the second-place Oilers with 11 games remaining. Edmonton, which played without star Connor McDavid (illness), has one game in hand.

“These were important games,” Theodore said. “The first part of this road trip was big, especially against Pacific Division opponents. Those are big points.”

For a time, it appeared the Knights (39-24-8, 86 points) would drop two points thanks to the heroics of Edmonton goalie Mikko Koskinen, who finished with 45 saves.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored at 6:46 of the third period to put Edmonton on top 2-1, but Jonathan Marchessault tallied his second goal in as many games to tie the score with 8:03 remaining.

In the overtime, Marchessault and William Karlsson double-teamed Oilers defenseman Ethan Bear in the corner and created a turnover. Marchessault found Theodore streaking down the slot, and he one-timed the pass for his career-high 13th goal.

Theodore scored with 1:10 remaining Sunday at Calgary to lift the Knights to victory in the first game of the back-to-back.

“It’s just a statement to us and to the league that we’re a good team,” Marchessault said. “We’re in for the long run. It’s that time of the year. We’ve got to find a way to win games no matter what.”

Here’s what stood out from the win:

1. Fleury back on track

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury didn’t see much action for the first half of the game, as the Oilers were held without a shot on goal for 18:18 of game time following Alex Chiasson’s goal nine minutes into the first period.

“You’re back there waiting. Cold toes,” Fleury said.

But Fleury thawed out in time to make a fantastic stop on Bear a minute into the overtime and finished with 22 saves, snapping a personal two-game losing skid.

“I knew it was coming back door, so I just tried to time myself to be there with the puck,” Fleury said. “It worked out all right.”

2. Stephenson sidelined

Forward Chandler Stephenson was a late scratch and missed his first game with the Knights since he was acquired in December.

The official word on Stephenson from a team spokesperson is he was unavailable against the Oilers and will be re-evaluated Tuesday when the team returns to Las Vegas. His status for Thursday’s game at Minnesota is expected to be determined at that time.

Stephenson’s absence forced Jon Merrill to play left wing for the second time this season. Merrill didn’t play a shift in the third period and overtime and finished with 5:13 of ice time.

“He’ll get checked out (Tuesday). Hopefully it’s nothing serious,” coach Pete DeBoer said of Stephenson. “I don’t anticipate it is, but you never know.”

3. Special teams shine

Defenseman Alec Martinez said the best way to fix a struggling penalty kill is stay out of the box.

The Knights were not penalized over 62-plus minutes and kept the Oilers’ top-ranked power play from ever taking the ice.

Meanwhile, Nicolas Roy got a piece of Nate Schmidt’s drive from the point for a power-play goal that tied the game at 1 with 3:02 remaining in the first period.

“Oftentimes this time of year or in the playoffs, it’s the special teams game that makes the difference,” Martinez said.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.