Vegas Golden Knights fans weren't too keen on Rasmus Andersson signing a seven-year contract extension last summer. They were underwhelmed by his Stanley Cup playoff performance, in which he had only six assists. Now, Golden Knights fans aren't too hot on his current pairing.
The Swedish Olympian was paired with newcomer Parker Wotherspoon to start the season. How have the duo done in the first two games together? Well, let's just say that both defensemen were absolute liabilities in the first two games. Look at where Andersson and Wotherspoon stood during Friday's game against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Wotherspoon-Andersson pairing is minus-4 through 100 minutes of hockey.
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) October 3, 2026
But plus/minus doesn't generally tell the entire story about how bad a pairing has been. It's just, "hey, you two were coincidentially on the ice together when the bad guys scored a goal. Therefore, we must punish you with a negative number. Here you go and try not to suck."
Instead, the numbers (courtesy of MoneyPuck) show how bad the pairing has been for Vegas. Offensively? They're not bad from an analytical standpoint (think 2.2 XGoals for, tied for second-best on the Golden Knights, a minimum of 10 minutes played together). But it's more of the bad defensive play that has hampered Vegas.
The defensive play of Rasmus Andersson and Parker Wotherspoon has been abysmal
Parker Wotherspoon and Rasmus Andersson have produced an xGoals against of 1.5 this season, making it the second-highest mark on the team (Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb have an xGoals against of 1.7 together). Together, the pair has an xGoals % of 59.5.
Looking at the Theodore-McNabb pairing, they might not be any better analytically. However, the pair works much better for a couple of reasons. One, they produce offense, as proven by their XGoals for of 2.8 (highest on the Golden Knights). Second, the duo have played more minutes together (43.7 minutes compared to Andersson and Wotherspoon playing 41.8 minutes together).
Here, they get the benefit of the doubt, based on their on-ice time and offensive output. But for Wotherspoon and Andersson, that isn't the case. The Swedish defenseman has had issues protecting the goaltender and Wotherspoon has -0.2 point shares to start the season.
And yes, that includes his -0.2 point shares defensively. The Golden Knights aren't getting the type of production they were promised from the former Pittsburgh Penguin, leaving them in a tight spot. What's a team to do in this situation when one of their pairings isn't functioning properly? Also, guess who also has -0.2 defensive point shares to start the season?
How the Vegas Golden Knights can get more from Andersson and Wotherspoon
Golden Knights fans have called for a massive shake-up with the pair after two games. They've seen the pair act as defensive liabilities and hurt the goaltending (think Carter Hart). While switching it up sounds nice, here's where things get tricky.
Wotherspoon has a left-handed shot. So do Jeremy Lauzon and Noah Hanifin. It's much easier to pair Lauzon with Andersson to have an offensive balance. However, Hanifin and Wotherspoon would look quite awkward. When nearly your entire blue line goes left-handed, it makes things a bit clunky.
Perhaps riding this out for a bit will help matters. After all, McNabb and Theodore are both left-handed defenders and they've been one of the best pairs in the league. Why not wait it out for a few more games, especially since the season started? If it doesn't work, pull the trigger on a complete defenseman shuffling.
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