Ryan Reaves found himself in an unexpected situation on Friday night against the Anaheim Ducks. After scoring the team’s second goal, he found himself on the receiving end of a beautiful pass from Joel Edmundson which left him in all alone on the goaltender. A couple of slashes and hooks from Patrick Eaves later, Reaves was awarded with a penalty shot.
The whole situation was so surprising – and awesome – that Blues fans collectively roared with delight as Reaves prepared to take his penalty shot. Despite a great move, John Gibson made a better play to stop the attempt.
Following the game, Reaves had some great quotes about the whole situation.
Via STLToday:
“I saw (the referee) point and I went back to the bench, ‘Oh, my arm. Steener, you want to take it?’ But you can’t do that. That was fun, though.
The crowd was too loud. I was going to do the Peyton Manning quiet-down (sign). There was too much going on for me. That’s not my element.”
Reaves might say that’s not his element, but his move on the attempt was actually pretty good. Gibson was just better. That being said, Reaves’ offensive game as a whole has been improving rapidly. He has evolved from an enforcer who was decent on offense to a powerful forward who can drop the mitts, dish out a huge hit and is more than reliable in the offensive zone.
There have been a lot of jokes made about how Reaves could easily take over Jori Lehtera’s role, but behind the jokes are some truths and real complements regarding Reaves’ growth as a forward.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
