Theodore hoping to get back on track

ARLINGTON, Va. — Gerard Gallant made Shea Theodore skip a shift. He’s not making him walk the plank for two rough games.

Theodore’s struggles are a major reason the Golden Knights trail the Capitals 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Final going into Game 4 on Monday night in Washington. The talented, young defenseman has been on the ice for four of the Capitals’ past six goals in the series and was primarily responsible for two in Vegas’ Game 3 loss Saturday night.

“Did Shea do something real bad? He plays the game like everybody else,” Gallant said Sunday in a passionate defense of Theodore. “He made a couple mistakes, they ended up in the back of our net. A lot of guys make mistakes in hockey games and they don’t end up in the back of the net. Shea’s a 22-year-old kid who I love. He’s a great player. He’s going to be a star in this league.”

Theodore doesn’t need to be a star, but he needs to be better for the Golden Knights to have a realistic chance of coming back in the Cup Final. In Game 3 alone, he made an ill-advised decision that sparked an odd-man rush on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s goal, and committed a brutal turnover that led to Devante Smith-Pelly’s goal that sealed it for Washington.

Trailing by two in the third period, Gallant sat the offensively gifted Theodore for more than three minutes after that giveaway. Gallant expects his whole team to be better with the puck, and Theodore knows that certainly includes him.