Some roster moves and a return to Vegas for Gallant & Reaves

The New York Rangers flew out a day early to take advantage of the warm weather in Las Vegas.  They practiced today as they prepared for a rematch with the Golden Knights who came from behind to beat the Blueshirts in a shootout in December.

In some minor moves, Jarred Tinordi came off the COVID protocol so only Artemi Panarin is left out of action.  They moved Matthew Robertson off the Taxi Squad and back to Hartford and replaced him with defenseman Tarmo Reunanen.

Patrick Nemeth remains out with a “personal” issue and all Gerard Gallant would say was that he is “okay.”   K’Andre Miller did not travel with the team, but is expected to be in Vegas in time for the game.  Artemi Panarin definitely didn’t travel, but there is a chance he could join the team for Saturday’s game in Anaheim if he clears the COVID list.

A return

It’s a return of sorts for both Coach Gerard Gallant and Ryan Reaves as they were fixtures in Las Vegas for the first few years of the franchise.

Gallant had been fired after 49 games in 2019-20 after leading the team to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season.  He did admit that a two year gap between coaching jobs helped.   “I’ve got a lot of good memories here, a lot of good people here, teammates, coaches and that. It’s fun. I look forward to it.”  He continued “The fans treated me A-one here…I’ve had a great time here my two and a half years.   I’ll get ready for the game, it’ll be nice…it’s really about Ryan Reaves coming back, Reavo’s a fan favorite and he deserves that.  For a coach, it’s nice, but it’s not the same as a player. I’m hoping they have a big cheer for Reavo.”

Reaves has been anticipating this game for months. “I’ve been watching for a while.  It was probably the first one I looked at when the schedule came out after I got traded.”  He did say he’s a Rangers now, “I don’t want to lose, I don’t want to lose to these guys now so I have to make sure we get the win tomorrow…I’m hoping I get a couple boos for running somebody, legally of course.”

Reaves did say he will be returning to Las Vegas after he retires, especially since he owns a piece of a local brewery. He was traded from Pittsburgh to Vegas in their inaugural season and played three more years there before his trade to New York.

Both said that it was good to get the first game against Vegas out of the way last month in New York.  Gallant did note that the Golden Knights are the only team he hasn’t beaten as a coach, something he wants to change.

The Rangers made Zac Jones available to the media and that usually means that he will be in the lineup against Vegas.  It will be the third straight start for the rookie. He acknowledged that he is competing for a job with the Rangers. “I know that it’s a battle for those six spots every night…it’s always a friendly competition. We all know there are a couple spots we’re all fighting for.”

He added, “It’s a good group, there’s no bad blood.”  Against Edmonton he was paired with Libor Hajek and Nils Lundkvist sat.  No word on who will play against Vegas though Jones is versatile and can the left or right defense.

Game time is 10pm EST on Thursday.