‘Miracle on Ice’ player Ken Morrow has soft spot for Olympic hockey

Ken Morrow of the 1980 U.S. ice hockey team walks on stage during a "Relive the Miracle" reunion at Herb Brooks Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, in Lake Placid, N.Y. Thirty-five years after the team's stunning gold medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics, the once-fuzzy-faced heroes are being feted for their signature accomplishment. Every surviving member of the hockey team is back at the hockey rink on Main Street they made famous with one of the most memorable upsets in sports history. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

The New York Islanders honored former players of the past four decades on Decades Night at the Nassau Coliseum before the NHL hockey game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Islanders on an NHL hockey game on Saturday, April 4, 2015, in Uniondale, N.Y. Ken Morrow waves to the applause of the fans as he is introduced. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

Ken Morrow can appreciate what the USA men’s hockey team is experiencing at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Like the majority of the players competing in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Morrow had yet to play in the NHL when he was a defenseman on Herb Brooks’ “Miracle on Ice” gold medal-winning team in 1980 at Lake Placid, New York. Morrow knows it’s an opportunity to get noticed and achieve something special.

“I’m pulling for those guys,” Morrow said Thursday while scouting the Golden Knights-Edmonton game at T-Mobile Arena for the New York Islanders, the team he won four Stanley Cups with in the 1980s. “Anytime you pull that USA jersey on, it’s a special opportunity.

“I think it’s going to be a competitive tournament because everyone’s in the same boat. There’s a lot of good players outside the NHL.”

Even though the “Miracle on Ice” took place almost four decades ago, Morrow said he’s still asked about it often.

“It’s hard to believe we’re 38 years (since),” he said. “But for a lot of people, it’s like it happened yesterday.”

Morrow was a teammate of Knights general manager George McPhee at Bowling Green State University in 1978-79 and said nothing the GM does surprises him.

“He’s always had a great feel for the game, and he’s built an exciting team in Vegas,” Morrow said. “They compete hard every night, and they’re modeled a lot like George when he played. He was always a tough competitor.”

Sbisa, Merrill ready?

Defensemen Luca Sbisa and Jon Merrill skated Friday without restriction and are expected to be activated off injured reserve for Saturday’s game against Montreal at T-Mobile Arena.

Sbisa has been on injured reserve three times this season, the most recent after he suffered a ruptured ligament in his left hand during a fight against Chicago on Jan. 5.

“My body’s good; I’m ready to go,” he said. “Every time you come back from an injury, it’s different.”

Merrill, who suffered a lower-body injury Jan. 4 against St. Louis, didn’t anticipate being out this long.

“You miss being around the guys and not being part of it,” he said. “But I was playing well before I got hurt.”

Coach Gerard Gallant said a determination will be made before the game on whether either or both are in the lineup. It might depend on the status of defenseman Shea Theodore, who was excused from practice Friday because of a sore throat.

Rare fight night

Colin Miller’s third-period fight with Edmonton’s Jujhar Khaira was just the seventh involving a Golden Knights player this season. Only Winnipeg has been involved in fewer fights, with six. The Florida Panthers lead the NHL with 31 fighting majors called.

“That’s not a big part of our game,” Gallant said. “We’ll stand up for ourselves, and we’ll back up ourselves.

“We want to play the game hard, and we want to play the game fast. Colin Miller stepped up, and I don’t know what went on between those two players. He did a decent job. But like I said, it’s not a big part of what we coach.”

Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.