Shea Theodore to miss Thursday’s game, listed as day to day

The Golden Knights lost one star defenseman while regaining the services of their other one.

Shea Theodore was ruled out of Thursday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks at T-Mobile Arena and is listed as day to day with an upper body injury.

Alex Pietrangelo returned to the lineup after he missed the past three games to follow NHL COVID protocols.

Theodore was involved in a collision with Anaheim’s Nicolas Deslauriers during the first period Tuesday and missed the final 4:43 of the period. Ryan Reaves squared off with Deslauries late in the first to hold the Ducks’ forward accountable.

Theodore returned for the second period and assisted on Nicolas Roy’s goal at 16:42 to give the Knights a 4-1 lead.

But Theodore was not on the bench to start the third period and did not take a shift in the final 20 minutes. He did not participate in Thursday’s morning skate.

“The explanation I got from the referee was he felt that it was incidental contact,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “I don’t know if we saw it exactly that way. I know Ryan Reaves didn’t and had a response for that. The bottom line is, Shea’s not out there today, not available tonight, and I would consider him day to day.”

Theodore has nine points (three goals, six assists) in nine games and ranks tied for sixth in the league in points per game.

Pietrangelo played for the first time since Jan. 26 after he was cleared from the NHL’s COVID protocol this week.

Pietrangelo, who signed a seven-year, $61.6 million contract as a free agent, slotted back onto the top pair alongside Alec Martinez and ran the No. 1 power play unit with Theodore sidelined.

“It’s great timing,” DeBoer said. “The fact that he can slide into (Theodore’s) spot five-on-five, on the power play, just protects our young defensemen there a little bit so that we’re not overwhelming them too early with some of the things we’re asking them to do.”

Middle man

The absence of center Tomas Nosek, who tested positive for COVID-19 and was removed from Tuesday’s game after two periods, allowed Nicolas Roy to return to his natural position.

Roy centered the fourth line, and winger Keegan Kolesar was back in the lineup after being scratched the past three games and skated on the third line.

DeBoer experimented with Kolesar at center Jan. 18 against Arizona, but that line was broken up after producing none of the eight shot attempts while they were on the ice.

“It’s an opportunity to get (Roy) back in the middle of the ice,” DeBoer said. “He’s very reliable, he’s good on the faceoff and he’s the best option for us as a centerman here.”

New lid

It’s tough keeping up with the Knights’ jerseys, and it’s even harder to keep track of the goalie’s equipment.

The latest specialty piece unveiled was Marc-Andre Fleury’s reverse retro helmet, which features the secondary logo on the right side with a montage of Las Vegas landmarks on the left. The red color matches the jerseys.

Robin Lehner unveiled his reverse retro equipment setup recently featuring crossed swords and the playing card suits.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.