Smith glad to end drought, still special on penalty kill
Forward snaps goal-less streak against Flames
WINNIPEG, Manitoba
— Reilly Smith hopes his goal from Tuesday’s victory serves as an offensive wakeup call.
The left wing was goal-less in six straight games before his first-period power-play working well with Marchy and Karlsson. He’s been a big part of this all season.”
Mcnabb skates, sits
Defenseman Brayden Mcnabb was on the ice Thursday at the team’s morning skate but was not in the lineup against Winnipeg. It was the third game Mcnabb missed because of an upper-body injury sustained Jan. 23 against Columbus.
He had visited with team doctors in Las Vegas on Tuesday, was cleared to play and rejoined the team late Wednesday in Winnipeg.
“It was good to be back out there with the guys,” Mcnabb said. “At first, it was looking like it might be a possible long-term thing. Fortunately, it wasn’t.”
Round 2 with Wild
The Knights are in St. Paul on Friday for the second of back-to-back games as the six-game road trip continues at the Xcel Energy Center against the Minnesota Wild.
It’s the second of three meetings between the two clubs. The Wild won the first game 4-2 on Nov. 30. Malcolm Subban was in goal that night, and there’s a good chance he’ll start Friday after Marc-andre Fleury started Thursday against the Jets.
The game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network. Knights TV playby-play announcer Dave Goucher will call the game on NBCSN.
Ambassador Bellemare
“Hockey is for Everyone,” the NHL’S all-inclusive initiative, kicked off its monthlong run Thursday, and each of the 31 teams has an ambassador to bring awareness to the cause.
Pierre-edouard Bellemare serves in that capacity for the Golden Knights, and he takes the role seriously.
“Everybody should think it’s important,” Bellemare said. “Hockey should be fun for everybody. It doesn’t matter who you are or what the color of your skin is.”
Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @ stevecarprj on Twitter.