Golden Knights’ Reilly Smith finds playoff groove
Reilly Smith looked pretty good on the ice during the Golden Knights’ first-round sweep of the Los Angeles Kings.
He looked even better in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Thursday, making three assists in the Knights’ 7-0 win over the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena. Included was a nifty pass to Shea Theodore, who scored 3:28 into the second period to make it 5-0 and chase starting goaltender Martin Jones from the game.
But Smith said he’s still trying to find his way on the ice and declared he’s not where he wants to be. He missed 15 games with an upper-body injury suffered March 6 and Thursday was only his sixth game back.
“I think every day I’m getting a little better,” said Smith, the first-line left wing who leads the Knights in playoff scoring with six points. “It was nice, a lot of people were able to find the back of the net (Thursday). That’s not going to happen throughout the series, so we’re fortunate for that.
“I’m not going to say that everything is completely back to where it usually is. But it’s the playoffs. No one is 100 percent, so everyone is used to that.”
His coach and linemates aren’t noticing any problems.
“To me, he’s all the way back,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant said of Smith, who is playing with regular linemates Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson. “He was great in the first round.”
Karlsson said: “He looks pretty good. He has (six) points. He’s done well. But if he thinks he’s 75 (percent), I’m good with that.”
Marchessault said: “He’s made the right plays at the right time and he’s been pretty consistent. He made a great pass on (Karlsson’s) goal (in Game 3). I’m happy that he’s back as part of the line.”
Smith said being reunited with Marchessault and Karlsson helped him get comfortable again on the ice.
“(They both) are good players and we work together,” Smith said. “It’s always good to play with those guys and it definitely makes my job easier.”
On a night when the Knights had seven players score, Smith said the team is playing at a high level and with lots of faith and belief in themselves heading into Saturday’s Game 2 at T-Mobile Arena.
“I think our confidence has been building all year,” he said. “We try to take it game by game and I know you guys are probably sick of hearing that, but it’s really how we look at it. This win is in the books. They’ll come out with a much better effort next game.
“I don’t think they came out with their best effort and that put them behind the eight-ball pretty early. So we’re going to rest up and get ready for the next one.”
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Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.
