If Reaves wants to brawl, who’ll stop him?

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- "He mentioned my name? Did he say he is going to fight me?"

No, Derick Brassard, Ryan Reaves did not say he is going to drop the gloves with you when his Golden Knights pay a visit to PPG Paints Arena Thursday night. What he meant was, in his opinion, the Penguins valued you more in the end.

"Obviously, I have nothing against him," Brassard said with a grin, referring to last year's late February trade that sent Reaves to Vegas and brought him to Pittsburgh. "Guys like that, they keep you honest. The way he plays, it's really unique. He moves well, skates well and is an effective player. I know from talking to the guys here, they really liked him. I wish he could've stayed and we could make another push for the playoffs."

Tuesday afternoon in Washington, Reaves spoke about his former team and his short 58-game stint in Pittsburgh. When he makes his return Thursday night, Reaves said it will be great to see old friends, but added that "I just hope the boys keep their heads up because I got no friends for two hours."

"I think he said the exact same thing when he faced St. Louis the first time," Bryan Rust joked.

Joking or not, the issue of physical play -- not to mention a potential fight -- could become very real for Jamie Oleksiak.  Oleksiak, all 6-foot, 7-inches and 256 pounds of him, is thought to be one of the lone guys on the roster who could handle the potential threat of a player like Reaves.

"Yeah, I mean, he has a job to do just like I have a job to do," Oleksiak said. "Like he said, there's no friends out there."

Oleksiak has 17 fights under his belt, according to hockeyfights.com. His last came against the Flyers' Radko Gudas in the opening round of last year's playoffs. Reaves tussled with Minnesota's Marcus Foligno last Saturday night. The hockey fighting website said 86.8 percent of fans thought he won the fight. For Reaves, it was his 69th NHL fight.

When Oleksiak was coming up through the USHL, and even his first few years in the NHL, he admitted the fighting aspect could get to him at times. Lining up against tough guys like Chris Neil, he said, was definitely at the forefront of his mind.

"You watch them growing up, beating the crap out of guys," he said. "That might keep you up at night."

With Reaves coming to town, Oleksiak said he doesn't plan on losing any sleep. His focus is on winning, and helping shore up a defense corps that hasn't exactly been stellar during the first two games of the season. But, if Reaves wants to dance, Oleksiak said he is more than willing to step up to the challenge.

"Honestly, if it happens, it happens," he said. "A fight is what, five minutes out of the game? Maybe the fight lasts 20 or 30 seconds, tops? He plays a physical game and I play a physical game. The older I've gotten, I'm more focused on game itself. I'm not going out there to fight guys, I'm trying to play physical and help our team get the win."

Jake Guentzel called Reaves a good teammate, on and off the ice. But, he also added that he will absolutely pay attention when he is on the ice.

"He's a special guy. A special player," Guentzel said. "You have to know when he is out there because of what he can do."

Brassard, obviously having fun with the situation, said he is a center, Reaves is a right-winger. He said he didn't take Reaves' position.

In all seriousness, Brassard said, the NHL is a business.

"I respect the way he plays," he said of Reaves. "He's probably the toughest guy in the league."

• There were no changes in the line combinations at Wednesday's practice:

Guentzel-Crosby-Hornqvist

Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel

Simon-Brassard-Rust

Cullen-Sheahan-Sprong

It is looking more like rookie Juuso Riikola will see his first NHL game action Thursday night, pairing up on the left side of Oleksiak. Riikola also saw time on the second power-play unit at Lemieux Sports Complex Wednesday. Olli Maatta, who started the Penguins' first two games, skated with Chad Ruhwedel on the fourth pairing for the third straight day.

Dumoulin-Letang

Johnson-Schultz

Oleksiak-Riikola

Maatta-Ruhwedel

• Will he or won't he? That is the question surrounding the return of ex-Penguin Marc-Andre Fleury, who said Tuesday in Washington that he will not play Thursday night in Pittsburgh. He called it a "coaches' decision" though Vegas bench boss Gerard Gallant said he has not made up his mind yet. If Fleury does play, that will be three starts in six days on the Golden Knights' five-game eastern road swing. "He's not playing against us?" Guentzel asked. "Obviously, you want to play against him. It's a fun battle with him.We are always happy to see him because he meant so much to us. He's a great guy."

• Rust also wants to see Fleury in net. Is it because he knows how to beat him? He wasn't biting on that one:

• Mike Sullivan wouldn't commit to a goaltender Wednesday afternoon, but Casey DeSmith has all but spilled the beans on the team's decision. "I feel ready for it," DeSmith said. "I'm excited for it. Playing in an NHL game its always a thrill no matter if it's your 600th start or your 15th." Matt Murray was diagnosed with a concussion he sustained in Monday's practice.

• DeSmith isn't only excited about this start, with free agency coming this offseason, he wants to show that he can be an every day player.

• With the injury to Murray, another goalie had to be called up. Murray is still on the 23-man roster, but that meant someone else had to go. That man was Derek Grant, who was placed on waivers Wednesday. A feel-good story, Grant scored 12 goals for the Anaheim Ducks last season. It was the first time in 92 NHL games that Grant found the back of the net. "It's just the business side of the game," Sullivan said. "Our management is trying to make the appropriate decision that we have two goalies for the game. It's part of the process."

• Riley Sheahan agreed that these last few days since that embarrassing 5-1 home loss to the Canadiens have felt like an extension of training camp. The team, he said, got back to basics this week. The wake-up call continued Wednesday, during a fast-paced hour-long workout that included plenty of power-play and penalty-kill work. "Yeah, practices have been a little bit tougher, based on our game against Montreal," Sheahan said. "We are trying to correct some things and get the legs moving a bit. It's important for us to get us ready for Thursday."

• Sullivan was asked about the fine line between over-coaching, and if implementing his system might cause some players to not do what they do best. Sullivan said that question is constantly on the mind of him and his staff:

• Game time between the Golden Knights and the Penguins is set for 7:08 p.m. Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins will take part in an open skate there at 10:30 a.m.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY