Sure, Nikita Nikitin used to be Ryan Reaves' teammate on the Blues. That's great. I'm sure that they get along perfectly fine and that they saw each other before the game tonight and said hi. Once you get on the ice, though, it's all about the guys who currently wear the Note, not guys who used to. Maybe Reaves just wanted to make sure Nikitin caught his greeting. Whatever the reason for this hit, I'm pretty sure Nikitin didn't miss this hello. From our own Fred Murtz comes...
Ow. Eh, they probably hung out in the hallway outside of the locker rooms having a good laugh about that... if Nikitin wasn't in the back sitting in an ice bath. It's rare that you see a hit like that get a whole arena on its feet -- you seem to hear about them more often than see them as of late -- but this was one of those classic hockey hits that fans love. Players hold back a little more than they used to thanks to refs and concussions, but Reaves? Not going to happen. It built off of the momentum that was gained after David Perron scored, and it very nearly led to a goal. Think the fans are the only ones who enjoy seeing things like that? Think again.