The laundry list of Vegas Golden Knights injuries is long. Granted that list is growing shorter, but key guys will still remain out of the lineup. Mark Stone will be out through the All-Star break, and shutdown defenseman Zach Whitecloud remains out, but is also expected to return. But one player the team will look forward to having back is Vegas Golden Knights Shea Theodore.
Shea Theodore Makes Return To The Lineup
.@emilymkaplan says the Golden Knights hope Shea Theodore will be back Friday against the Rangers.
Mark Stone dealing with a back issue, but different from the issue he had before and as expected, he'll be out through the All-Star break.
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) January 25, 2023
You can never have too many defensemen and impact players on the blueline. Alex Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez, and Nicolas Hague are holding down the fort just fine, but the impact defensemen Shea Theodore leaves on the lineup is essential. Now that he has healed up from a lower-body injury, he will be ready to help this team push further now that the gap in the division had narrowed down.
What Shea Theodore Brings To The Vegas Golden Knights
Shea Theodore's scoring chance driving is crazy. His defensive numbers are 📉. He's still elite though. #VegasBorn https://t.co/KARGVtgCfU pic.twitter.com/9mxkKViPg5
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) May 24, 2021
Since joining the Vegas Golden Knights, Shea Theodore has been the top point leader among defensemen (always ranking first). Last year was a career year for him as he finished with 14 goals, 38 assists, and 52 points. In addition, 12 of those points came on the power play. Of all the assists he had, 22 of them were primary, which shows how key he was in making plays. He is great in transition and has a cannon of a shot, but his defensive metrics in his own end are down. Overall though, Theodore is an elite defenseman in this league.
His impact is limitless. Here is how he ranks among defensemen in these categories:
Corsi For: 29th (54.58)
SF%: 22nd (55.62)
Expected Goals %: 23rd (56.12)
Goals %: 24th (61.70)
Scoring Chances For %: 36th (55.03)
HDGF%: 44th (60.87) 14 goals for in the area.
HDCF%: 38th (55.80)
Despite him being out of the lineup, he is regarded as one of the better defensemen in the league.
Statistics Come From Natural Stat Trick
Theodore As A Pair
His impact as a top-pairing defenseman is up there. Among all defensive pairs that have logged 150 minutes, Theodore and Braden McNabb rank 23rd in expected goals percentage (56.9%), and average 3.04 xGoals for per 60 minutes. They’ve been as expected. The pair averages 3 goals for per 60 minutes, while also being the best defensive pair. Defensively they average 1.36 goals against per 60 minutes, which surpasses the expected rate they were at. That is the only pair he has been on. But his impact as a pair is huge to the back end. It gives the Vegas Golden Knights another heavy pair they can count on.
Shea Theodore Return Is A Huge Boost
The impact Vegas Golden Knights Shea Theodore leaves on the club is endless. His return will be a huge boost to the lineup as the team continues to make its playoff push. Teams have closed the gap on Vegas, but his return will be a major boost. He is one of the major pieces that get to take the ice and gives Bruce Cassidy a workhorse on the back end.
Vegas has been in a slump lately but has overcome the injuries fairly well. However, they have lost five of their last six games and have struggled mightily on home ice. Production has come from all over the ice which is an encouraging sign, but this is the perfect time for Theodore to return. Over the last six games, they have scored more than two goals on one occasion, so having Theodore back to help push the play in a huge boost.
What Lies Ahead For The Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas will look to finish strong before the break which has them wrapping up a road trip against two New York teams. After that, they can reset and regroup and hopefully get some more bodies back in the fold.
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