Uncaged D / Reinhart, right or left: Friday (late) notes

The Big Club fights for its playoff life and its building’s life tomorrow. The banged-up defense has a few different options tomorrow, all involving either Sound Tigers from this season or recent ones. We’ll see how they look at 3 p.m. (or earlier on Twitter).

This whole “Has Griffin Reinhart played the right side” thing (A: Yes) seems to keep popping up on Twitter and perhaps elsewhere, so I sorted through starting pairs. By game-opening partner in Bridgeport this season: Reinhart started games on the left with Scott Mayfield more than anybody, 17 games, but for the last time on the day Ryan Pulock was hurt in Providence, Jan. 2. Reinhart also played the left with Jesse Graham 10 times and, at the end, 12 times with Matt Carkner. That’s 39 games in all. On the right: He played nine times with Aaron Ness while Pulock was out, five times apiece with Kevin Czuczman and Adam Pelech, and once early on with Andrey Pedan. That’s 20 on the right. However, after Pulock was hurt, the split was just about even: 20 left (12 Carkner, eight Graham), 19 right (nine Ness, five each Pelech/Czuczman). He also was often on the right on the penalty kill if he was playing with another lefty, and at times when they played with five defensemen.

In the AHL playoffs, ex-Tiger on ex-Tiger violence: Jeremy Langlois got a boarding major for a hit on Steve Oleksy, and Hershey scored three goals in the last 2:21 to beat Worcester. Micheal Haley had opened the scoring for the Sharks, but Hershey tied it in the second.

Hotshot prospect Kasperi Kapanen had two goals for the Penguins in their series opener against Syracuse; they ran and hid, though Matthew Peca got his first pro playoff goal for the Crunch.

Good bounceback win for Chicago to tie their series going back to Utica. And Rockford got three in the third to beat Texas in Game 1 and end a 10-game playoff losing streak.

Every series except Utica-Chicago plays its Game 2 on Saturday night.

Good news from Mark Divver in Providence: Bobby Robins, out most of the year with a concussion, skated today after practice. Steve Eminger, though, is reportedly out for the playoffs after a Game 1 knee injury.

My Swedish is rusty, but it appears Anders Nilsson may be playing at Worlds for Sweden. That tournament starts in a week.

And RIP, Sawyer Sweeten.

Michael Fornabaio