Reaves shines with stick, not fists, in slugfest with Sharks

By Justin Emerson

Wednesday, March 17, 2021 | 11:15 p.m.

With his relentlessly physical approach to the game, Ryan Reaves is the unquestioned Vegas face of the Golden Knights-Sharks rivalry. So it was only fitting that his best moment of the season came against the team he loathes more than any other.

Reaves redirected a shot from the high slot into the net Wednesday for not only his first goal of the season, but the goal that gave the Golden Knights the lead they would not surrender in a 5-4 comeback victory at T-Mobile Arena. 

For a man with more fights than goals against San Jose in his career, he took a well-deserved victory lap after the game.

“Anytime you do anything against the Sharks, it’s fun. It’s no secret I hate every one of them over there,” Reaves said. “We came into the locker room (before the third period) knowing that we know how to win games and it seems like they don’t really right now.”

Digs aside, he’s on to something with knowing how to win. Reaves’ goal was part of the Golden Knights’ second third-period comeback of multiple goals this season, and they’re now 4-4-1 when trailing after two periods. They entered the frame in a 3-1 hole and looking at the prospects of their first loss of the season to their rival before things got going.

Cody Glass and Nicolas Hague scored to tie it, then Reaves stuck in a dagger with the first goal of his career against the Sharks. Alec Martinez scored after, a necessary insurance goal considering Evander Kane potted one more for San Jose, but it was Reaves’ goal that put the Golden Knights on top for good.

“I think with all the distractions of the antics of their guy through the first couple of games, I thought he did a great job of keeping his focus and playing hockey,” Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said. “He was obviously a much more important part of this game tonight than (Kurtis) Gabriel was.”

DeBoer mentioned the Sharks forward because he and Reaves dropped the gloves for a fight in the teams’ March 5 meeting. Since then, Gabriel and Reaves have jawed at each other, but didn’t come to blows Wednesday, even if plenty of other players did.

It wasn’t the usual suspects though. Instead it was Vegas captain Mark Stone vs. Tomas Hertl and Jonathan Marchessault vs. Sharks captain Logan Couture. Both dances came as part of an emotional third period when the Golden Knights rallied to score four unanswered goals, and Vegas players after the game credited Stone and Marchessault with their willingness to throw down.

“I don’t know if it’s April Fool’s or St. Patrick’s Day when you see Reaves scoring and Couture and Hertl and Stone fighting,” DeBoer said. “It definitely wasn’t a typical game, but it was really hard-fought.”

Not only were the fighters not who you’d expect, but neither were the goal-scorers. There was Reaves with his first, but also Shea Theodore with his fifth, Glass’ fourth, Hague’s third and Martinez’s third. The fighters were scoring and the scorers were fighting.

It shows the depth of the Golden Knights. With Marchessault in the box for his fight and Alex Tuch out of the lineup with an injury, DeBoer turned to a power-play unit in the third period featuring Tomas Nosek and William Carrier, two players whose power-play time to that point consisted of line changes as penalties expired.

Naturally, Nosek assisted on Martinez’s goal for his second point of the night after also assisting on the Reaves tally.

“It’s not always going to be the same guys answering the bell, both on the physical side of it we saw on a couple fights, but on the offensive side of it,” Martinez said. “In order to be a successful team you’ve got to be able to score by committee, you’ve got to have team toughness, you’ve got to be able to stick up for each other.

“I’m really proud of the way guys did that tonight. It truly was a team effort — guys stepping out of their comfort zone, their normal roles. I’m just proud to be a part of it.”