Theodore's OT goal gives Golden Knights win against Mammoth in Game 4

SALT LAKE CITY -- Shea Theodore scored at 19:08 of overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 5-4 win against the Utah Mammoth in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round at Delta Center on Monday.

Karel Vejmelka stopped Jack Eichel's initial chance at the edge of the crease, but as Ian Cole came in to swat away the rebound, he accidentally knocked away Vejmelka's stick as well. Eichel then regained possession of the puck below the goal line, and as Vejmelka was scrambling back into position, he passed out to the high slot, where Theodore buried a one-timer into an open net.

The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2. Game 5 will be at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday (10:00 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, Utah16, SCRIPPS, truTV, TNT, TVAS).

“I really liked our mindset coming into the game tonight,” Theodore said. “(We) played a lot more the same as we did in Game 3 (a 4-2 loss on Friday). And obviously they had a few good minutes there in the (second period), might have let off a little bit there, but then I liked the way we responded in the third after they scored. We stuck with it, getting pucks to the net, and then yeah, it was obviously really nice to get the job done in overtime, too.”

Brett Howden had two goals and an assist, Eichel had three assists, and Noah Hanifin had two assists for the Golden Knights, who are the No. 1 seed from the Pacific Division. Carter Hart made 27 saves.

“We started really well,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “Lost ourselves a bit, momentum swung to their side, but we hung in there. The guys know we're at a very important game to keep the series in a good frame for us.”

Nick Schmaltz had a goal and an assist, and Mikhail Sergachev had three assists for the Mammoth, who are the first wild card from the Western Conference. Vejmelka made 31 saves.

“Obviously, they had a great start,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “I liked the way we responded after their third goal. ... Right away after that’s where we started rolling and got back in the game a little bit. So, I’m proud of the way our guys responded to adversity. That was a hard-fought game. We know how good they can be, and I think we responded well in the second half of the game.”

Pavel Dorofeyev opened the scoring at 1:12 of the first period. Ivan Barbashev fanned on a one-timer from the left circle, but the puck slid right to Dorofeyev, who finished past the outstretched left pad of Vejmelka to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead.

Howden made it 2-0 with a short-handed goal at 18:38. Mitch Marner intercepted the puck from JJ Peterka along the boards and sent a centering pass to Howden, who pulled it from his backhand to his forehand and deked around Vejmelka at the edge of the crease.

“I thought we did a good job in the D-zone and in the overtime as well when they had some shifts where they were rolling over,” Howden said. “(We had) some big blocks, big saves and yeah, nice to get it done.”

Cole Smith extended the lead to 3-0 at 3:26 of the second period, tipping in a shot from the left point by Hanifin.

Schmaltz began Utah's comeback at 8:04. Following an extended shift in the offensive zone, he chipped in the rebound of Lawson Crouse's shot past the blocker of Hart at the left post to make it 3-1.

Cole cut it to 3-2 just 29 seconds later at 8:33. He scored with a slap shot past the glove of a screened Hart from above the left circle.

“Obviously, we haven’t been happy with our starts the past two games,” Cole said. “We’re going to have to rectify that going forward. As the game went on I thought we played better. You get into overtime and anything can happen. Unfortunately, we’re not happy with the outcome, but we’re going to move on to Game 5.”

Michael Carcone tied it 3-3 at 1:45 of the third period with a one-timer from the right circle that went short side under the glove of Hart.

Clayton Keller then gave the Mammoth a 4-3 lead at 5:10. His backdoor pass for Sergachev at the right post deflected off the body of a prone Theodore and trickled under Hart's left skate.

“I loved our fight. We're still playing confident,” Keller said. “We got down in the game but kept going. Everyone was contributing, and we got some momentum there from the fans as well. All in all, we fought well until the end. We'll learn from this game and still be really confident, for sure.”

Howden tied it 4-4 with his second goal of the game at 10:25, redirecting Hanifin's shot from the left point.

“I think they had a push and I think they were putting a lot to the net, but I thought we did a good job,” Howden said. “Obviously, they get one, we don't want them to get another. We want to get in their O-zone and keep working, but they managed to get another. But I thought we did a good job after that of pushing back.”

Dorofeyev appeared to win it for Vegas at 10:22 of overtime on a rebound in the crease, but the call was reversed after a video review determined that Eichel was offside prior to the goal.

“I thought we won it the first time,” 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. They put in the work and I thought they prepared very well. So, we even it up and we keep on going.”

NOTES: Theodore is the first defenseman to score a playoff overtime goal in Golden Knights history. ... Eichel has six career three-point games in the playoffs, which is tied with Jonathan Marchessault for the most in Golden Knights history.