Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore has been activated from injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday.
Theodore will be in the lineup tonight when the Golden Knights take on the Minnesota Wild. It will be his 500th game with the Golden Knights.
Theodore suffered a broken wrist during the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. The 29-year-old was in the midst of a career season prior to the injury. Theodore has seven goals and 48 points in 55 games and sits five points away from setting a new career high after recording 52 in 2021-22.
Though Vegas is getting Theodore back, the club will be without a key piece in Tomas Hertl, who did not travel with the team and is expected to miss the entirety of the three-game road trip, according to general manager Kelly McCrimmon.
Hertl is still being reevaluated, and his long-term status remains unknown. Hertl sustained an injury after being pushed into the end boards in Sunday’s 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He got up favoring his arm and did not return.
Hertl scored four goals in his last two games, and he recorded two hat tricks in the last two weeks. He leads the team with 31 goals, 14 of which have come on the man-advantage, which is a career best. Hertl was four goals away from tying his career high of 35, which he set in the 2018-19 season with the Sharks.
Nicolas Roy will take Hertl’s spot on the second line with Brandon Saad and Pavel Dorofeyev, and Tanner Pearson will draw back into the lineup to skate on the fourth line.
Marc-Andre Fleury will man the pipes for the Wild tonight in what likely will be his final matchup (at least in the regular season) against the Golden Knights, as Fleury is set to retire at the end of this season.
Fleury is first in wins (117), goals-against average (2.41) and save percentage (.917) in franchise history. He has 573 wins in 1047 career games with the Penguins, Golden Knights, Blackhawks and Wild.
Vegas’ three-game road trip will feature another notable matchup against an Original Misfit, as Saturday’s game against Nashville will be Vegas’ first against Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Marchessault, who signed a five-year, $27.5 million with the Predators over the summer.
Marchessault leads the Golden Knights in all-time goals (192) and points (417) and is third all-time in games played (514) behind Brayden McNabb (572) and William Karlsson (543).