Golden Knights’ Pierre-Edouard Bellemare gets much-needed day off

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare had the day off from Golden Knights practice Monday.

The center needed it after a physical game the previous day.

Bellemare put in his usual hard-working shift and also took the brunt of a collision with teammate Deryk Engelland midway through the first period Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings.

“Belly blocks a lot of shots all the time, and it’s a maintenance day for him,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “He’ll be the first one on the ice (Tuesday) for practice. We had two days, and it’s one of those days where, you know, it’s a 30-minute practice, a light practice, so I’ll give him the extra day. But he’s fine.”

Bellemare was looked at by the trainer on the bench after running into the 6-foot-2-inch, 214-pound Engelland in the Knights’ zone with 9:33 remaining in the first. He also took a stick to the face during a third-period faceoff against Nic Dowd.

Bellemare finished with one blocked shot and went 8-for-14 on faceoffs in 10:12 of ice time while taking on additional responsibilities for Gallant.

Twice in the first period, Bellemare was put on the ice to take defensive-zone faceoffs. He won both draws and then headed straight to the bench for a line change.

With the Knights protecting a one-goal lead late in the third period, Gallant shortened his bench and used Bellemare with Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch.

“Lots of people like the shooters, the point makers,” said Tomas Nosek, one of Bellemare’s regular linemates. “Nobody can see this kind of job. But most important is the teammates and coaches, and they can see it.”

Banging bodies

The Kings have a reputation as one of the most physical teams in the Western Conference, but the Knights outhit Los Angeles 38-26 on Sunday.

Veteran forward David Perron helped set the tone for the Knights and was credited with four hits. Perron seemed to be a target of several Kings players.

“It’s almost like I played 11 years against them,” he joked. “I played a lot against them, and we always got the rivalry going since probably my fourth year or fifth year in the league. We played in back-to-back years in the playoffs (2012 and 2013 with St. Louis) against them, and a lot of the same guys are still there for this team.”

Bryce Harper stops by

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, a former Las Vegas High standout, watched practice at City National Arena on Monday with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.