Ryan Reaves looks better at practice for New York Rangers; Nils Lundkvist likely scratched again
Ryan Reaves is on IR and will not be eligible to play until Friday when the New York Rangers are in Edmonton to face the Oilers.
However, today at practice in Vancouver things went much better than they did in Seattle. Sunday morning, Reaves hit the ice briefly and banged his stick in frustration before exiting.
“He was hoping to skate but it didn’t feel that good,” Gerard Gallant said after the incident. “He didn’t hurt it anymore, he was just frustrated.”
New York Rangers need a healthy Ryan Reaves
Reaves, 34, made it through practice rotating on the fourth line. He has racked up nearly 1,000 penalty minutes in his NHL career. Reavo suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury in a 5-1 loss Monday against Calgary and was placed on injured reserve Thursday night.
The truth is, this is the same left leg he injured in preseason when P.K. Subban “accidentally” slew footed him.
At the 9:59 mark of that contest, PK Subban took Ryan Reaves to the boards and tripped him up. Reaves’ left leg got caught in a rut and bent awkwardly. The Blueshirts toughest player had to be helped off the ice ending his night. Fortunately, he was able to play in the season opener against the Capitals but seems to be a little slower than I remember despite all his hits.
In 693 games he has accumulated 941 penalty minutes. He can also chip in with some occasional offense as he’s picked up 101 points over that time. The big forward also likes to throw the body with 2,347 hits in his career to go with 75 major penalties.
If he continues to make progress, Reaves should play against the Oilers.
Nils Lundkvist likely to be a healthy scratch again
Jarred Tinordi and Patrik Nemeth appeared to be paired again at practice indicating another healthy scratch for 21 year-old defenseman Nils Lundkvist.
When Gallant asked about why Lundkvist was scratched after the Blueshirts 3-1 win in Seattle he said, “it’s just about going with best roster we felt to win the game. He’ll be back soon.”
Lundkvist has one assist on the season, which oddly came in the last game he played against the Blue Jackets on Friday. He is averaging 14:24 of ice time per game.
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