Golden Knights beat Mammoth in overtime, tying first-round series 2-2

The Delta Center was the place to be on Monday for Game 4, Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights, but not for the early-to-bedder as the match went into overtime. Photo: TownLift // Meredith Gustman

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah  — Shea Theodore scored with less than a minute left in overtime Monday night, lifting the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-4 win over the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center and evening their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series at two games apiece.

Theodore’s goal at 19:08 of overtime came moments after a Vegas score had been waved off on review, deflating a Delta Center crowd that had erupted thinking the Mammoth had survived to play on.

Vegas jumped out to an early lead, with Pavel Dorofeyev scoring 1:12 into the first period and Brett Howden adding a shorthanded goal late in the frame. Cole Smith made it 3-0 at 3:26 of the second.

“Schmaltzy scored a big goal, and then Colesy,” Mammoth head coach André Tourigny said of Nick Schmaltz and Ian Cole, whose goals 29 seconds apart sparked Utah’s comeback. “For sure, that gave us energy. We were much better after.”

Schmaltz scored at 8:04 of the second, and Cole followed at 8:33 to cut the deficit to 3-2 heading into the third.

Michael Carcone tied it 3-3 at 1:45 of the third with a one-timer from the right circle. Clayton Keller gave Utah its first lead at 5:10, scoring his fifth career playoff goal as the Mammoth completed a comeback from down 3-0.

Howden answered with his second of the night at 10:25 of the third to tie it 4-4 and force overtime.
In the extra period, Dorofeyev appeared to win it for Vegas at 10:22 on a rebound, but officials reversed the call after determining Jack Eichel was offside on the play.

“I thought we won it the first time,” Vegas head coach John Tortorella said.

“I was in the coach’s room pretty much celebrating. I was yelled back out, that we’re not sure, and so that was a little weird for me, but I am happy for the guys.”

“I think you just kind of sit down there, reset, have a lot of faith in your team, and confidence that you can just go out there and try to do it again.” Vegas Golden Knights Forward Mitch Marner said to reporters about regrouping after a false win. “So obviously, the crowd got really loud in that moment. You have to make sure that on our next couple of shifts there, we just go out and do the same thing we did before. I thought we did a good job of that, and, as I said, we had them in there a couple of times. And a big goal by Shea, good O-zone plays.”

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All photos: TownLift // Meredith Gustman

Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka made 31 saves. Carter Hart stopped 27 for Vegas.

Cole Smith called the Delta Center “a hostile environment,” crediting Utah’s fans for the energy in the building.

The series shifts to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for Game 5 on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT.