Ryan Reaves’ leadership praised after being healthy scratch

Right wing Ryan Reaves wasn’t in the lineup for Game 5 of the Golden Knights’ second-round series against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday in Denver.

Yet, when the team walked back to the locker room after a 3-2 overtime victory that gave it a 3-2 series lead, there was Reaves dishing out fist bumps, a shoulder check to goaltender Robin Lehner and a hug to defenseman Zach Whitecloud.

Knights coach Pete DeBoer has stressed the importance of depth and leadership if the team is going to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He said how veterans such as Reaves and defenseman Nick Holden, who played Game 5 after sitting out Game 4, have handled going in and out of the lineup has been important.

“We don’t get to this point without a deep bench and everybody contributing at different times,” DeBoer said. “Nick Holden and Ryan Reaves, for sure, when you watch them and how they’ve handled those situations, that’s huge to the leadership of our team.”

Reaves was a healthy scratch Tuesday for the first time in the playoffs since the Knights’ inaugural season.

Left wing Mattias Janmark’s return from injury necessitated a forward coming out of the lineup. DeBoer opted to put rookie Keegan Kolesar, who was scratched for Game 1, on the fourth line and bench Reaves.

Kolesar played well with left wing William Carrier and center Patrick Brown when Reaves was suspended two games for roughing/unsportsmanlike conduct against Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves in Game 1.

Reaves had an assist in his return to the lineup Game 4. The fourth line of Carrier, Brown and Kolesar was minus-1 at five-on-five in Game 5, but DeBoer complimented Kolesar on Wednesday for blocking two shots five seconds apart in the final 1:18 of regulation.

“(He) could’ve took it in the head,” DeBoer said. “Didn’t think twice about it. Ended up taking it in the arm.”

Reaves has been praised for his leadership in the past. The 11-year veteran has held ball hockey clinics in Las Vegas to promote the sport and is helping build a ball hockey rink at the James Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada.

“Joining the team last year halfway through the season, he made me feel like family,” Whitecloud said after Reaves’ suspension was announced. “He looked after me, and he was a big reason why my adjustment to the NHL level was smooth.”

Comeback Knights

The Knights, for the most part, haven’t been getting off to great starts this postseason. But it has hardly mattered.

The team has scored first in just four of 12 playoff games but is 7-5. The Knights have scored the first goal once in five games against the Avalanche.

Colorado entered Tuesday’s game 35-1-1 when leading after two periods. The Knights then scored two third-period goals before winning in overtime on Mark Stone’s goal.

“Who cares about the odds, right?” goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said. “You just have to win.”

Game 7 start time

The Knights and Avalanche would play a Game 7 at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver if necessary, the NHL announced Wednesday. The game would be televised on NBCSN.

Game 6 is Thursday at T-Mobile Arena.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.