Shea Theodore day-to-day with head injury

Another injury, this time to defenseman Shea Theodore, has added to the rapidly growing list of injuries for the Vegas Golden Knights, a list that already includes Max Pacioretty (lower Body), Alec Martinez (upper Body), William Karlsson (foot), and recently-acquired Jack Eichel (neck). 

Theodore was forced to leave Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes after falling awkwardly into the boards and hitting his head. The injury occurred in the 3rd period after a Vegas defensive zone face-off victory. The puck rolled back to Theodore and upon attempting to clear, he appeared to lose an edge and fell backwards, making troublesome contact with the endboards.

In a corresponding move, Vegas recalled forward Ben Jones and defenseman Daniil Miromanov from the Henderson Silver Knights on Thursday, spelling out the news that Theodore would be likely to miss some playing time.

Theodore did in fact end up missing last night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, a 5-2 victory for Vegas. Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer was gleaming at his team’s efforts despite missing some of their top players.

“Really proud of them. It seems like every day we get something new thrown at us,” DeBoer said. “They don’t let anything affect them… They found their legs and their game and didn’t let what’s going on around them affect how they played. It was a real solid game.”

It wasn’t all bad news for the Golden Knights and their fans, as defenseman Zach Whitecloud was activated from Injured Reserve prior to facing off against the Red Wings. The returning, young defender made an immediate impact, scoring 2 goals, his first multipoint game in the NHL.

“It was exciting to get back in,” Whitecloud said. “Obviously when you’re injured for an extended period of time or any time that you’re away from the boys or kind of the regular schedule, you start to miss out, obviously. Sitting up in the press box you just want to get playing as quick as possible. It’s exciting to be back, to be back contributing.”

When asked about Shea Theodore’s status after the injury, DeBoer replied, “He fell hard, hit his head. Worked out today, skating tomorrow, progressing really well. But I don’t have a return to play date.” The fact that team doctors and DeBoer appear to have avoided diagnosing the injury as a concussion has to bode well for Theodore and the Golden Knights.

Although it does seem that Theodore was luckily able to avoid a major injury, it sounds as if DeBoer and the Golden Knights are prepared for a situation where Theodore is expected to miss the team’s next few games. Vegas squares off against the Columbus Blue Jackets (9-5-0) at home on Saturday and then hits the road for a game versus the St. Louis Blues (9-5-2) on Monday night.