Ryan Reaves has been suspended two games by the NHL for his actions in Game 1 of the Golden Knights’ Second Round series with the Avalanche.
During the third period Sunday night, Reaves was involved in a scuffle with Avs defenseman Ryan Graves and assessed a match penalty. The Vegas forward’s continued pushing of Graves’ head down into the ice is one of the thing that drew the attention of the NHL Department of Player Safety.
As explained in the video, the on-ice officials and Reaves himself said that some of Graves’ hair was pulled out during the scrum. That brought the incident up to the roughing/unsportsmanlike conduct level. Also noted is that Reaves said he went after Graves after the Colorado defenseman knocked Mattias Janmark from the game with a hit earlier in the period.
[NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2021 Second Round schedule, TV info]
“I don’t know if you can call that physicality,” said Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog. “Reaves, he’s on a mission to hurt someone in the third. That’s what he goes out and does. I’m sure the league will take a look at it. It was intent to injure.”
In all, the “totality” of Reaves’ actions, the score of the game, and the fact that he went after Graves as retaliation is why supplemental discipline was given here.
“For me, Ryan Reaves is one of the cleanest tough guys I’ve seen in the league in my 12, 13 years,” said Vegas head coach Peter DeBoer. “He’s consistently a clean, physical player.”
Reaves will be eligible to return to the Golden Knights’ lineup for Game 4.
AVALANCHE VS. GOLDEN KNIGHTS (COL leads 1-0) - series livestream link
Game 1: Avalanche 7, Golden Knights 1
Game 2: Wed. June 2: Golden Knights at Avalanche, 10 p.m. ET (NBCSN)
Game 3: Fri. June 4: Avalanche at Golden Knights, 10 p.m. ET (NBCSN)
Game 4: Sun. June 6: Avalanche at Golden Knights, 8:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN)
*Game 5: Tues. June 8: Golden Knights at Avalanche TBD
*Game 6: Thurs. June 10: Avalanche at Golden Knights TBD
*Game 7: Sat. June 12: Golden Knights at Avalanche TBD
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.
