Ryan Reaves knows he may have to sit out some Rangers games

When you are 35, and you make your living playing on the fourth line, this kind of thing can happen. And Ryan Reaves is aware of it, and realistic about it.

Reaves had been a fixture in the Rangers lineup all season long, bringing energy, physicality, and locker room leadership to a group dialed in on chasing its first playoff spot in five years. But when the Rangers added two forwards at the trade deadline last week, , some guys were going to have to sit out. Reaves was an early casualty, sitting out the first two games after the trade.

“I've been through it,’’ he said at Friday’s morning skate, before the Rangers hosted the Islanders at Madison Square Garden. “I think when you're an older guy and you're not in the lineup, you’ve got to make sure that you're bringing the same energy. You don't want to be around the guys and kind of bring any negative energy in the locker room.

“I'm getting older, and with all the guys we've got here, there's probably going to be some games I'm not going to play,’’ he continued. “Am I happy about it? No. You never want to sit. But you can't be a distraction in the locker room. You’ve got to be the same guy. You got to make sure you bring the same energy.’’

Rangers coach Gerard Gallant goes back a long way with Reaves, having coached him at his last stop, with the Vegas Golden Knights. But after the Rangers acquired forwards Andrew Copp and Tyler Motte and defenseman Justin Braun at the deadline – and forward Frank Vatrano five days before that – Gallant told the team that some guys who had been regulars were going to come out of the lineup. It was all about trying to win in the playoffs, he said. And he said Reaves got that.

“Everybody understands,’’ Gallant said. “We’ve got 25 guys. Some nights we might want to have a speed guy in there. It's a different makeup for our team on different nights and [against] different opponents. So he understands. I mean nobody wants to sit out, but he's part of it. He understands his role and his job… And I always tell them, make it hard for me to take you out of the lineup.’’

An injury to Ryan Strome prompted Gallant to re-insert Reaves for the two-game, midweek trip to Pittsburgh and Detroit, and he was in the lineup against the Islanders.  Reaves scored the first goal of the game Wednesday in the Rangers’ 5-4 overtime win over the Red Wings. It was his third goal of the season in 58 games.

“Basically [I was] just trying to get it to ‘Motter’, I saw hIm going to the backdoor,’’ Reaves recalled of the goal. “I tried to put it through two [Red Wings players’] sticks. The first guy got it and put it right back on my tape.’’

So he shot it, and it went in.

“Nothing pretty about it,’’ he said.

There’s little pretty about Reaves’ game, but his physical play (a team-leading 237 hits entering Friday) wears down opponents, his personality lifts his teammates, and his reputation as perhaps the most feared fighter in the league helps make them feel a little safer.

His fighting ability may not be as needed once the playoffs begin, and his lack of speed may be a liability, then, too. But with 13 games remaining in the regular season after Friday, there are plenty of physical teams Gallant will likely want to have Reaves in the lineup against. They play the Islanders one more time, and have games left with the Devils, Flyers, and the Washington Capitals and Tom Wilson.

Reaves promised to be ready if and when he’s called upon.

“I think you’ve got to go in just bringing the energy and, and just make sure you're playing the game,’’ he said. “Try to play physical, try to play hard in the ‘D’ zone. Do everything. All the little right things.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.