Oscar Lindberg’s versatility key to Golden Knights’ fast start

It helps to be multi-faceted in today’s NHL.

Win a faceoff. Kill a penalty. Play on the wing. Move from line to line. Go back to being a center. Take a shift on the power play.

It’s what Oscar Lindberg does and why he has become a valuable member of the Golden Knights, who are 8-1 and the talk of the hockey world. The 6-foot-1-inch, 202-pound forward from Sweden has been consistent every night.

“You try to help the team wherever you can,” said Lindberg, who turns 26 Sunday. “I don’t see myself as a flashy player. I just try to do my job wherever they need me.”

Lindberg, who has scored four goals this season, has endeared himself to coach Gerard Gallant, who loves his versatility and reliability.

“He’s been tremendous for us,” Gallant said. “The guy comes to work every day, never complains and does whatever you ask of him.”

Lindberg’s goal that gave the Knights a 2-0 lead in Friday’s 7-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche was a thing of beauty and epitomized his skill level. He won a footrace to a loose puck near center ice, eluded one defender, got by another, and with a third defender trying to shut him down, flicked the puck over Semyon Varlamov’s shoulder.

The Avalanche challenged the goal, claiming Lindberg was offside. But replay showed a Colorado player had played the puck into the Avalanche zone, and the goal stood.

“It was a great goal,” Gallant said. “I think, like I said, most of these guys didn’t have a whole lot of ice time with the teams that they were playing for last season. They’re given an opportunity to step up, and those guys are taking advantage of it, and that’s who we want.”

General manager George McPhee had several choices when the New York Rangers compiled their list of available players for the NHL Expansion Draft. He could have taken goaltender Antti Raanta. He could have had the speedy Michael Grabner or fellow Swedish forward Jesper Fast.

Instead, McPhee selected Lindberg, who in three seasons with the Rangers had only 21 goals and 48 points, and had undergone a bilateral procedure on his hips in 2016.

“It was a similar process with all the players we were looking for,” McPhee said. “He was one of those players who may have been stunted in their development.

“But our scouts liked what they saw of him during the playoffs last year. He seemed to be playing like the player he was projected to be.”

On Tuesday, in the second game of a six-game trip, Lindberg and the Knights will be in New York to face his former team. But it’s not going to be about renewing acquaintances. It’s about maintaining the team’s fast start.

“We’ve got some momentum and need to keep it going,” he said. “It’s hard to win on the road, but we’ve got a talented group of guys who get along and work hard.”

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Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.