The gloves will come off for Ryan Reaves on Wednesday against the Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena for the team’s preseason home-opener.
OK, maybe not those gloves. After 419 NHL games spread over seven seasons, with 56 heavyweight bouts on his fight card, Reaves doesn’t have to prove much. He’s widely recognized as the league’s best and most feared fighter.
But the arrival of a real, live game means Reaves can stop halfheartedly hitting his teammates, as he’s done the past week at training camp, and re-channel his efforts elsewhere.
It’s something he’s very much looking forward to.
“These scrimmages aren’t really tailor-made for a player like me,” Reaves said following Wednesday’s morning skate at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. “I’m definitely ready to get back to the physical aspect.”
The Penguins acquired Reaves on June 23 to serve as something of a protector, but they also brought him here because coach Mike Sullivan believes Reaves’ skating can become an asset.
Reaves is coming off the best season of his professional career. After tweaking his offseason workouts to improve his skating, Reaves had seven goals and 13 points in 80 games for the Blues, a career-best offensive effort.
Sullivan said previously he’d even tinker with using Reaves some on the penalty kill, while Reaves spent Wednesday’s line rushes working on the right side of Carter Rowney and Tom Kuhnhackl.
The skating aspect to Reaves’ game has been evident. The hitting or fighting … well, not so much. Because, really, how would Reaves benefit from blasting one of his teammates?
“I haven’t hit anybody,” Reaves said. “The only guy I hit was me. I laid myself out into the boards landing on [Tom] Sestito.”
Reaves said he’s “not the type of guy” who would take a run at a teammate, but just to make sure, Sullivan and Reaves had a talk before camp.
Sullivan said they laid some ground rules and discussed what exactly they were asking of Reaves.
“I wanted to be clear with him on what our expectation is and how we’d like him to play,” Sullivan said. “He’s another guy who skates well and we think can play the type of game we’re trying to play. He obviously brings a dimension that I think is unique, especially to our group. Certainly he knows his role very well.”
Well enough that Reaves isn’t going to drop the gloves in a preseason game just to say he did it.
“Obviously I’ll protect a teammate if I have to, but I’m not going out there to show I can fight,” Reaves said. “I think I’ve proven that in the last seven years.”
Reaves wants to prove he can skate, kill a penalty and chip in with the occasional goal. Being an aggressive force on the forecheck is another thing, but it’s a little tough to do that against your own team.
“It’ll be good to get back to playing physical,” Reaves said. “Obviously I don’t want to be laying too many guys out in camp here. … I’m excited to start playing in the corners, grinding and getting back to my game.”
Grip it, rip it
With many of the Penguins veterans due to receive a light preseason workload, the power-play units have had some interesting looks.
Such as Brian Dumoulin, with two goals in 163 NHL games, running the point on the second unit. Or Tom Kuhnhackl, a healthy scratch for long stretches last season, in Patric Hornqvist’s net-front spot on the No. 1 grouping
Asked the last time he ran a power play, Dumoulin laughed. So, too, did dressing room neighbor Kris Letang.
“I was on it a couple times last year, a couple games there,” Dumoulin said, defending his turf. “Sometimes I had spot duty. I played it a little bit. It’s not something I’m totally new to.”
Plus …
“It’s not the first unit, so it’s kind of mop-up duty. Just go out there and shoot the puck.”
Injury updates
Patric Hornqvist (hand), Tom Sestito (undisclosed) and Ethan Prow (undisclosed) remain out with injuries. Hornqvist has been skating on his own before camp.
Sullivan said he’s not particularly worried about any of the three.
“They’re all making progress,” Sullivan said. “We don’t expect any of them to be long-term.”
Goalie plan
Sullivan said that Matt Murray will start in goal and play two periods. Tristan Jarry will relieve at the start of the third.
Quotable
Reaves was asked whether he enjoyed his role as the team’s protector: “I like to play daddy. I like to make sure the boys are taken care of on and off the ice. It’s something I’ve kind of grown into and embraced.”
Grouping to watch
The Penguins top line will feature Adam Johnson between Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary.
Call it Adam and … the Fellow Kids?
Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, but Johnson is a solid two-way center who has made noticeable progress over the past week or so. It will be interesting to see how he fares with a pair of gifted offensive players.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: September 20, 2017, 4:16 p.m.
Updated: September 21, 2017, 3:56 a.m.