LAS VEGAS — It was the annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday as the Golden Knights do their part in what is a league-wide initiative to bring awareness and raise funds to help battle cancer.

It is a cause near and dear to my heart. I am a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with Stage 4 Follicular Thyroid Cancer in 2001. I was fortunate to beat it thanks to the good folks at National Institutes of Health and my Colorado doctor, Dr. Bryan Haugen.

So when Shea Theodore scored in the third period on the power play to give the Knights a 3-1 lead against the New York Rangers, I thought to myself, “How ironic.”

Theodore is a cancer survivor as well. He had been diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2019 and was away from hockey for several months. He won his battle and has been cancer-free for several years.

Theodore’s goal, his second of the year, would prove to be the game-winner as the Knights held on to beat the Blueshirts 3-2. Maybe it was karma as the team honored some pediatric cancer patients prior to puck drop and as they left the ice, Theodore was there to give each of the dozen or so kids a fist-bump of encouragement. He knows what they’re going through.

“Those kids are a hell of a lot tougher than I am,” Theodore said. “It’s good to see a smile on their faces and get some recognition. They’re amazing.”

As for scoring the game-winner, the moment wasn’t lost on the 30-year-old from the Vancouver suburbs.

“I think of my grandmother before every game,” he said of Kay Darlington, who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2020. “Tonight was definitely a special one.”

Theodore’s overall game is starting to round into shape. He’s starting to produce on the Knights’ second power play unit playing alongside Noah Hanifin. He’s making better decisions with the puck in his own end, joining the rush when he sees opportunities and not shirking his defensive responsibilities.

And with the Olympics around the corner, Theodore, who was injured in last year’s 4 Nations first game and missed the rest of Team Canada’s run to the gold medal in that tournament, is a candidate for the Olympic roster.

“I’m feeling better as we go,” he said. “A little bit of a change this year with Petr (Alex Pietrangelo) being out. But I feel like I’m starting to come into my own here and play some better hockey.

“I’m not worried about (the Olympics) right now. I’m focused on playing my best hockey for this team and if it comes, that’s great. But my focus is here every single night for the Golden Knights. I think the better you play here, the better your chances.”

Knights coach Bruce Cassidy, who will be an assistant coach with Team Canada, likes what he has seen from Theodore’s game lately.

“(Assistant coach) John (Stevens) talks to him every day and he tells him not to put too much pressure on himself,” Cassidy said. “We just want him to come to the rink and be the best version of himself.

“Things are starting to go well for him. The puck’s going in for him now. He’s playing with more confidence.”

The Knights knew they had a battle on their hands Tuesday. The Rangers came into the contest with the NHL’s best road record at 9-1-1 compared to their 1-7-1 slate at Madison Square Garden, where they are normally very tough.

But Vegas never relinquished the lead it got with Braeden Bowman’s first-period power play goal and Ben Hutton’s in the second period that inexplicably trickled through the legs of Igor Shesterkin and across the goal line for a 2-0 lead.

Shesterkin would atone for the gaffe with two remarkable saves to rob Jack Eickel, who has not scored in nine straight games. The first was a glove save that appeared ticketed for the upper right corner, the second, a sprawling save that he stopped with the back of his leg.

At the other end, Akira Schmid came up big as well, stopping a 2-on-1 shorthanded try with his right pad on Will Cuylle which would’ve tied the game.

Instead, Theodore would get to play hero with his power play tally and the Knights came away with two important points as they head to Salt Lake City Thursday to face the Utah Mammoth in what is a weird three-game road trip.

Following Thursday’s game at the Delta Center, Vegas heads to Anaheim to meet the Pacific Division-leading Ducks Saturday before returning to Utah on Monday.

“We’re resilient,” Cassidy said of his team, which has 24 points (9-4-6) and is right on the Ducks’ tail in second place. “We’re essentially playing without our starting goalie (Adin Hill) all year. We don’t have (Mark) Stone so we bring up the kid (Bowman) and we tell him ‘Just play’ and he’s helping the team.

“I think we’re playing better. We’re just marching on. We’re playing more consistent for longer periods of time.”