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 Da'Ron Payne Redskins Jersey , 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 Cheap Vita Vea Jersey , and Theodore knows that certainly includes him.

"Personally, not a good game," Theodore said. "I've got to be better all over the ice and definitely recharge tomorrow and get back at it. You have to have a short memory on these type of things, and it's a seven-game series."

The series won't get to seven games if Theodore's mistakes continue to haunt the Golden Knights. In addition to the blunders that cost them two goals, arguably Theodore's worst play Saturday night came when he lollygagged down the ice on the power play and got outraced by Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen so badly goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury had to come out of his net and wound up taking a tripping penalty.

That cost Vegas a big opportunity to score on the power play and cut the deficit in half.

"We all make mistakes," Fleury said in French. "He must forget it."

That's the message from veteran defense partner Deryk Engelland, who teammates notice has been a calming and positive influence on Theodore. Engelland talked to Theodore after the loss and again the morning after to reassure him and reinforce some positive thinking.

"He's young Josh Jackson Packers Jersey , you're going to have mistakes," Engelland said "It's a new day. We've got to get ready for Game 4 and you've just got to tell him to simplify, make the simple, easy play that he's done all year for us, and just get back to our games."

Teammates have been just as quick as Gallant to praise Theodore for his strong play this season, and there's no doubt he's a factor in the expansion team getting this far. But at the most critical stage of the Golden Knights' journey, he has been close to his worst and knows it.

"I just have to be much better than I was Authentic Joe Mixon Jersey ," Theodore said.

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More Stanley Cup coverage: 鈥?Bill Belichick's impressive resume makes it easy for the five-time championship head coach to mandate that players check their egos before joining the New England Patriots.Doug Pederson didn't have a hard sell, either.The Philadelphia Eagles are an unselfish group that prioritizes winning over personal accomplishments. It's a major reason why the Eagles (15-3) are playing the Patriots (15-3) in the Super Bowl on Sunday."It's a group that doesn't really care who gets the ball. The bottom line is trying to win the game," Pederson said. "I didn't have to sell it too much."Pederson was 7-9 last year in his rookie season as head coach but has guided the Eagles from worst to first in search of the franchise's first NFL title since 1960. He found a way to blend a young locker room with a mix of accomplished veterans.The team added veteran receivers Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith, running backs LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi, defensive linemen Chris Long and Tim Jernigan and defensive backs Ronald Darby, Patrick Robinson and Corey Graham."I can remember this team showing up in April and talking about being at this place, talking about our dreams Vontaze Burfict Jersey , aspirations and focusing on a grind," safety Malcolm Jenkins said."Guys being unselfish, adding guys along the way that added to the team and continued to push, and every time we won and had some success 鈥?we even had some adversity 鈥?the team believed more and more. It's been awesome to be a part of."Blount led the NFL with 18 touchdowns rushing and earned his second Super Bowl ring last season in New England. He didn't get a carry in a loss at Kansas City in Week 2 and never complained. Same with Jeffery, who went from No. 1 receiver in Chicago to being one of the guys in Philadelphia."We couldn't care less how many catches or how many carries or how many yards any one guy has," Blount said. "We all have one common goal in hand. We all have one thing that we all want more than anything. You can't be selfish when everybody has one common goal because you have to make sacrifices for the better of the team. We've done that and it's gotten us this far."Pederson set the tone and Carson Wentz carried it out with his team-first attitude and that filtered down the roster."He's the most humble guy you come across," Pederson said. "He'll give it right back to the team."It was a smooth transition to Nick Foles after Wentz got hurt. Foles also is a respected leader who leads by example. It's not a coincidence the Eagles sought this type of player."This is the most selfless team I've ever been around Connor Williams Jersey ," Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz said. "Guys don't care about stats. They only care about winning. Doug is the best coach I've been around in managing players. He lets us show our personalities and if he needs to talk to somebody, he does it quietly and in a mild-mannered way. His selfless leadership is a big reason we're here."The team is one of the closest-knit groups in the league and players genuinely care about each other and spent plenty of time together."When you see guys hanging out with players from other position groups, it's special," defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said. "I would go eat dinner with Donnie Jones. You don't see a guy hanging out with a punter."If the Eagles win a few championships, perhaps the standard Pederson has set will eventually become similar to Belichick's Patriot Way. They have to get the first win first.AP NFL website: .