Golden Knights edge Canucks 5-4 in a shootout

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Shea Theodore opted for a simple approach on his shootout attempt.

Good call.

Theodore scored in the tiebreaker to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 5-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

Theodore, the fourth Vegas shooter, beat Jacob Markstrom on a backhand. The 26-year-old defenseman, who is from the Vancouver suburb of Langley, improved to 2 for 2 on shootouts.

''Sometimes when you overthink it the pucks ends up in going in the corner,'' he said. ''I just tried to make a fake and tried to catch him biting on it.''

It was the first game for longtime Vancouver stars Daniel and Henrik Sedin since announcing Monday they are retiring after Saturday's season finale in Edmonton. In the third period, the brothers stood at the bench and waved to the crowd who gave them a standing ovation. Vegas players banged their sticks on the ice.

''It was fun to be part of it,'' Daniel Sedin said. ''It takes us back to a playoff atmosphere. It was fun to be part of that again.

''It's been a while since this building has been this exciting to play in. It's a great feeling.''

Bo Horvat, Brandon Sutter and Nikolay Goldobin, with his second of the game, scored in the third period as the Canucks erased a three-goal deficit. Goldobin tied the game at 10:53 when an innocent-looking tip squirted past Vegas goalie Malcom Subban.

''We had good control of the game ... and fell asleep a little bit,'' Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said.

Subban, who finished with 21 saves, wasn't happy.

''You never want to win that way,'' he said. ''You want to shut the door and not lose focus. I felt I lost focus there a little bit and they capitalized on it.''

Vancouver's Jake Virtanen was called for hooking 15 seconds into overtime. Theodore scored on the power play, but the goal was overturned because of goaltender interference.

Brandon Pirri led Vegas with two goals in his first NHL game of the season. William Karlsson had a goal and two assists and Tomas Tatar also scored for the first-year Knights, who clinched the top spot in the Pacific Division on Saturday.

Daniel Sedin earned an assist on Horvat's power-play goal for the Canucks, who had won four in a row. He also hit a post in the shootout. Henrik Sedin also missed in the shootout.

Markstrom stopped 35 shots.

The last home game for the Sedin twins, who spent their entire 17-season career in Vancouver, will be Thursday against Arizona.

A large number of fans, many waving signs thanking the Sedins or holding up jerseys, pressed along the glass and stood four or five deep in the aisles during the warmup. The brothers were featured in a video tribute on the big screen before receiving thunderous cheers and a standing ovation in the pregame introductions.

There were cheers during the game each time a Sedin touched the puck.

NOTES: Vancouver's Ashton Sautner looked to have his first NHL goal in the second period, with assists from the Sedins, but it was overturned on video review for the play being offside. ... The Canucks sent goaltender Thatcher Demko back to Utica of the AHL. ... Forward Brendan Leipsic returned to the Canucks lineup after missing five games with a neck injury. ... Vegas didn't dress forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Erik Haula.

UP NEXT

Vegas: Travel to Edmonton on Thursday night.

Vancouver: Host Arizona on Thursday night.

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