Nathan Walker laid quite the smackdown on Ryan Reaves in Tuesday night’s game between the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Yes, you read that right. The five-foot-nine, 187-pound Aussie caught the six-foot-two, 230-pound Reaves with a big hit along the boards in Toronto that sat the enforcer on his backside.
Nathan Walker v. Ryan Reaves pic.twitter.com/cbCzxfFcx0
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) February 14, 2024
Walker is known to get a bit feisty and after recording four total hits in Tuesday’s game is averaging over 2.7 hits per game in his 16 games with the Blues this season. For comparison’s sake, Reaves is averaging exactly three hits per game for the Maple Leafs in 26 games.
The 2018 Stanley Cup champion does have a rougher side to his game. At the pro level, Walker has gotten into 26 fights and has an AHL suspension on his record from his time with the Hershey Bears for a hit during the 2018-19 season.
Reaves got put on his wallet by Walker just a day after proclaiming to the Toronto media that today’s players play a “different brand” of hockey than he’s used to, insinuating that the game has gotten soft. “Make hockey violent again, a tattoo I should get,” Reaves said.
While Walker got the best of Reaves in their one-on-one battle, the Maple Leafs ultimately prevailed on the scoreboard. In the 4-1 loss, Walker grabbed the primary assist on St. Louis’ only tally, a tip-in from Alexey Toropchenko.
On the season, the 30-year-old winger has six points (4g, 2a) in his 16 games. That is triple the amount of points that Reaves (2g) has in 10 more games. Walker is also averaging over 11 and a half minutes of ice time per game while Reaves plays just above seven minutes per game.
S/T to @PuckReportNHL
