Knights on Ice — Amazing If I May SHEA So

Shea Theodore waited for 62:13 of a 60-minute game for the VGK to finally take the lead in a game they never led. His goal in OT defeated the 2^nd place Edmonton Oilers by a score of 3-2. Vegas now leads the Pacific Division by 3 points and even if Edmonton wins their one game in hand, they will still trail the VGK.

On Sunday night, Shea waited for 58:50 to score the winning goal. Theodore is quietly becoming one of the best defensemen in the league. His 2 winning goals on consecutive days makes him the 2^nd defenseman who has accomplished that and he’s in excellent company with John Carlson. Carlson will win the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman this year, no doubt in my mind. But Carlson is 30 years old and Shea is 24 and still developing. He’s yet to reach his peak or potential.

Carlson’s stats this year are 15 goals, 60 assists, 2 PPG, 26 PPP, and 6 GWG.

Theodore’s stats this year are 13 goals, 33 assists, 1 PPG, 16 PPP, 6 GWG, and  2 OT goals.

Carlson’s 15 goals this season tie a career-high.

Theodore’s 13 goals this season are a career-high.

Carlson has played in 757 NHL games.

Theodore has played in 264 NHL games.

The position of defenseman in the NHL is the one that takes awhile for a young player to develop and master.

Here’s the best part of the story. George McPhee signed Shea Theodore through the 2024-25 season for $5.2 million per year.

John Carlson is signed to an $8 million per year contract through the 2025-26 season.

Vegas has a potential Norris Trophy candidate locked up for 5 more years at a bargain price.

Shea Theodore in his last 10 games has 5 G, 2 A, and 3 GWG.

It was a game that the VGK should have won by a score of 6-2 and that’s being kind to the Edmonton Oilers. Their goaltender Mikko Koskinen faced 48 shots, while Edmonton only had 24 shots on Fleury. The Oilers went 18 minutes without a shot on Fleury. The crowd at Rogers Place, which last night could have been called Shea’s Place, mocked their team when they finally got a shot on Fleury. The Knights completely dominated the Oilers on every inch of the ice.

The Oilers struck first on a goal that was deflected past Fleury 9 minutes into the first period; their next shot didn’t happen until just about the halfway mark of the 2^nd period. The shots on goal after the first period were 15-3 in favor of Vegas.

Yes, I know Connor McDavid wasn’t in the Edmonton lineup, but Mark Stone, Alex Tuch, and Chandler Stephenson were missing from the VGK lineup. They had to play Jon Merrill as a forward.

McDavid is very important to the Oilers, but the same can be said for Mark Stone, who now has missed the last 5 games.

In the last 13 games, the VGK are now 11-2-0. DeBoer has put his stamp on this team. His system of allowing defensemen to join in the rush, creating units of 5, has made a big difference and Theodore, Holden, and Schmidt seem to be thriving with this new wrinkle.

I must admit, I wasn’t totally sold on the firing of Gallant and replacing him with DeBoer. When Kelly McCrimmon said that replacing Gallant was the best thing for the VGK at thetime, I thought those were just words that needed to be said to justify the move. But hindsight is a beautiful thing and now I couldn’t agree more.

Nicolas Roy continues to excel game by game. He scored the VGK’s first goal in the game. Also, with Chandler Stephenson out with what they’re calling a minor injury, Roy got additional time on the power play. Prior to moving up from the 4^th line, he never had more than 3 shots on goal in a game. In Friday’s game, he had 5 SOG. In Sunday’s game, he had 4. Last night, he had 4.

Last night was the 11^th time this season the VGK have had to play back-to-back games. Their record on the 2^nd game of the back-to-back is an amazing 9-2. They play their 12^th and final back-to-back on March 17 and March 18: Dallas at T-Mobile on the 17^th and Arizona on the 18^th. It was also the VGK’s 3rd game in 4 nights. They now get 2 full days off before the road trip continues and returned to Las Vegas rather than stay on the road.

Both Nicolas Roy and Brandon Pirri were “sent back down” to the Chicago Wolves, but that’s only to save room under the cap space for when Alex Tuch returns. Tuch’s salary isn’t being calculated against the cap. Once he returns, it will put Vegas right up to the limit. These are just paper moves; I’m sure Roy and Pirri both returned to Las Vegas with the team and did not head to Chicago. 

Jonathan Marchessault, who was in the midst of a scoring slump, scored a huge goal to tie the game in the 3^rd period after Edmonton broke the tie with a goal at the 6-minute mark by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Marchy scored 2 minutes later to tie the game and send it into OT to set up the Shea heroics.

Marchessault’s goal was the 112th of his career and his assist on Shea’s winning goal was his 251^st point. Both Marchessault and Karlsson were relentless on the forecheck, not allowing Edmonton to clear the puck, which would have allowed them to change and get a fresh set of legs on the ice. Vegas skillfully moved the puck in and out of their offensive zone during the OT, which gave them fresh legs.

Fleury can’t really be held solely responsible for either goal that got by him. The first was tipped by Alex Chiasson from a shot from the point; the 2^nd  by Nugent-Hopkins came off a turnover from Tomas Nosek, who lost the puck to the right of Fleury as he was coming out from behind the net.

Fleury, whose recent performances have been questioned on social media, only had to face 24 shots with long periods of time in between during the first and second period. Fleury made some stellar saves a minute into overtime, as Edmonton was much more engaged than they were in the first and second periods.

My 3 Stars of the Game: This is an easy one, Shea Theodore (GWG in OT), Mikko Koskinen (it would be wrong not to give him a mention; if not for Koskinen, this game would have been over early), Jonathan Marchessault (a big goal in the 3^rd period that avoided a disaster).

Next game is Thursday at 5 p.m. vs. Minnesota, potentially a first-round playoff opponent for the VGK if things remain the same.

Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor or you can contact me directly at [email protected] or at Twitter @TheRealJoePane or you can visit my Facebook page or the Facebook page of Vegas Hockey Guy

Marchy’s tying goal

Fleury’s big save in OT

Theodore’s game-winner in OT