Golden Knights’ reserves stay sharp for when call comes
It’s not easy being Oscar Lindberg, Ryan Reaves, Tomas Tatar or Brad Hunt these days.
You can throw Luca Sbisa in there as well.
The quintet are on the outside looking in as the Golden Knights prepare for the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the San Jose Sharks. Lindberg, Reaves and Hunt all were healthy scratches in the opening-round sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, while Tatar was benched when David Perron returned from his upper-body injury for Game 3. Sbisa is still rehabbing his injured right hand and hasn’t played since Feb. 27.
“I’ve been through it before,” said Reaves, who was acquired Feb. 23 in a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins to provide some muscle. “I think there’s definitely one year where I wasn’t the best teammate. But I learned from that, and you just have to be a good teammate first.
“You practice with the boys and you do a little extra to stay physically fit. But mentally, you just have to realize it’s happened all season to guys who’ve had to sit out, so you just have to make sure you’re ready.”
Practices essentially become the games for those who are scratched, Lindberg said.
“We try to make it competitive among us and try and stay sharp,” he said. “We’re all professionals. We know there’s only so many spots in the lineup. But you still have to be ready if they call on you.”
Coach Gerard Gallant said he likes the way his extras are handling their business.
“They’ve been great,” he said. “I know it’s tough for them. We’ve got 25, 26 guys and we’re finally healthy, and it’s always hard when you have to sit. But they’ve handled it like we expected them to. No issues whatsoever.”
Day off
The Knights were off Sunday and return to practice at City National Arena at 11 a.m. Monday.
“We had two really good days of practice,” Gallant said of the team’s workouts Friday and Saturday. “I liked the tempo and the way the guys were skating.”
The NHL is waiting on the outcome of the remaining first-round series before it announces its second-round schedule. Gallant said that if the Knights-Sharks series were to begin Wednesday instead of Thursday, as expected, he’ll adjust practice plans accordingly.
Tickets on sale Monday
A limited number of tickets for second-round playoff games goes on sale at noon Monday through the team’s website only.
Tickets can be purchased through www.vegasgoldenknights.com, and there is a four-ticket limit per person, per game. Games 1 and 2 will be at T-Mobile Arena.
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Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.
