Pacioretty’s routine leaves him lonely at end of Golden Knights warmups
Max Pacioretty seems to be fitting in just fine with his Golden Knights teammates, but there’s a point in every game when he sticks out like a sore thumb.
Long after most of the Knights’ skaters have left the ice following warmups, the forward usually is still out there with just free-agent signee Nick Holden and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for company.
“This team, it’s crazy. I can’t believe how early everyone gets off. You look at the other end, the other team has a lot of guys still on,” Pacioretty said. “Our whole team gets off real early. Maybe I’ll start saving my energy and get off earlier.”
Pacioretty had a routine when he was in Montreal where he would always stay on the ice with teammate Alex Galchenyuk. With the Knights, he’s remained with his goaltender and fellow newcomer Holden, who has a lengthy pregame routine.
Holden always finishes his regimen by practicing stopping and starting on the ice, shuffling his feet quickly, before heading toward the tunnel.
“It just ends up going almost to the end of warmups,” Holden said. “I’ve been doing all that stuff for years.”
And even though it makes him, Fleury and Pacioretty stick out, Holden doesn’t begrudge his new teammates for having shorter routines.
“Some guys want to stay out there and keep shooting and handling pucks; some guys, you get off in five minutes,” Holden said. “It’s more just preference and superstition for some guys.”
Road Reaves
Forward Ryan Reaves put out a friendly PSA on the team’s Twitter feed Thursday when he said the left lane is only for fast drivers and asked everyone else to move over. It seems the Twitter video, which had more than 83,000 views as of Monday morning, caught Las Vegas’ attention.
“You know, it’s funny. Yesterday I was driving back and I swear everybody got out of the left lane,” Reaves said. “It was like everybody saw this tweet. It was great. Keep it up, Vegas.”
🎥 Reaves: Can I just put a little message out there? The left lane on the highway is for fast drivers. The right lane is for the slower drivers, not three people driving the same pace. If we can just move over a little bit, Vegas, I love you, but just move over a little bit. 😂 pic.twitter.com/zCJCmks1PH
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 18, 2018
Off day
The Knights didn’t practice Monday and coach Gerard Gallant said he had big plans for his free time, such as going to the dentist and getting a haircut.
“It’s a good day off to relax,” Gallant said Sunday. “Not do a whole lot.”
Family promotion
Robert Foley, the son of team owner Bill Foley, was named the Knights’ chief business officer and chief strategy officer of Foley Family Wines and Epic Wines and Spirits. Robert Foley was previously a hockey operations assistant.
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Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
