Ryan Reaves was a healthy scratch against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, and the San Jose Sharks’ gritty veteran says he’s just staying ready.
Reaves maintained the same reasoning that head coach Ryan Warsofsky gave for why he was scratched.
“They wanted to give [Michael] Misa a look,” Reaves exclusively told SHD.
Like a true veteran, Reaves was frustrated, but understands he doesn’t make the lineup decisions. The Sharks winger has become a focal point of energy on and off the ice for a young team, and he understands his role.
“I never want to come out of the lineup. I think I’ve played well [enough] to stay in, but that’s above my pay grade,” Reaves said. “It is what it is. They want to take a look at other guys. I just got to be ready for the next one.”
Reaves’ next opportunity to get back into the San Jose Sharks lineup will be Thursday against the Washington Capitals. The Sharks are starting a four-game road trip before coming home for one game, then going back on the road for five more before the Olympic break.
The Sharks sit in the Western Conference’s top wild-card spot with 49 points. The stretch from now until the Olympics could be a make-or-break moment for the Sharks’ playoff push.
“It’s very important. It’s so tight in our division right now. The whole league, teams are gonna start climbing,” Reaves said. “If you come out of the break [and are] behind that, the games get even more intense. You want to be in a good spot coming out of that break.”
“You really have to hit the ground running coming out of it. Because it’s kind of a playoff atmosphere every game after that.”
Reaves has gone on many deep Stanley Cup Playoffs runs, making him a good person for young Sharks players to learn what a late-season push is like.
“Right out of the break, it’s going to feel like the playoffs. Every team that is just out is going to really start pushing to get in, and every team that’s in is going to start pushing for position and climbing high in the standings,” Reaves explained. “Teams are going to start making trades and getting better. It’s going to get a lot more amped up.
The key is not to be scared of that. It is to raise our level, raise our game, and dictate when teams come in here, we dictate. When we go into other barns, we dictate. I think we have to raise our level as other teams do.”
Reaves also simplified, saying that the team’s internal focus must get stronger, and the buy-in must be more intense.
The Sharks will practice on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., where lines can indicate if the 38-year-old will draw back in.
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