Bobby Ryan is nursing a broken finger and figuring out if he can play
Bobby Ryan and the rest of the Ottawa Senators are doing their best to deal with the pain before meeting the New York Islanders Tuesday.
In Ryan’s case, it’s about finding some level of comfort playing with his broken right index finger in a splint, underneath a modified hockey glove.
For the rest of the team, it’s about burying the painful memories from a road trip that has so far included one win and three losses, including back-to-back defeats to Florida Friday and Tampa Saturday. A victory over the Islanders wouldn’t make it a winning road trip, but it will send the team home with at least some positive feelings.
The challenge of playing the Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders will be tougher if Ryan is out, of course. Following practice in Tampa Monday morning, Ryan was on the fence about whether he could play. He steered clear of contact at practice and acknowledged that shooting was difficult.
“There are some optimistic signs, if we can continue to get some progress on it,” said Ryan, who broke the finger after taking a slash against Florida. “It’s going to be a conversation I have to have with the trainers and (coach Paul MacLean). I don’t want to rule it out at this point.
The glove is essentially a three-finger glove, which Ryan jokingly says gives him “that Spock-look, I guess.
“I felt OK, but I just don’t know. With the splint on and the fingers taped inside the glove and the glove kind of stitched together — you’re taking two and trying to make one — it’s tough to get through that, the vibration through the shaft (of the stick).”
MacLean described Ryan’s workout as “delicate.” One factor in deciding whether Ryan can play will be concerns that the winger could make the injury worse if hit the wrong way.
“We’re going to make sure he can’t re-injure it,” said MacLean. “We would rather have him miss two or three, or three or four games, rather than six weeks, if he gets whacked again.”
As a team, the Senators can’t afford to get whacked again, either. They’ve won only two of their past seven games, sit sixth in the Atlantic Division and 11th overall in the Eastern Conference.
There should be little concern that the Senators might look past the Islanders. They’ve won six of seven games, and nine of their past 11. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak has won nine straight starts.
Meanwhile, Senators netminder Craig Anderson, who has faced 89 shots in his past two games, says it’s vital the Senators “flush the games that are no good” in order to get rolling again.
“Positivity is probably the number one key factor in having success. If you’re negative and defeated before the game starts, guess what? You’re going to lose,” said the man who will be in net Tuesday night.
Anderson says the Senators showed some resolve against Tampa, tied 1-1 entering the third period after their dreadful outing against Florida.
“We gave ourselves a chance to win that night.
“Through two periods, we were going toe to toe against one of the better teams in the East and showed we can play.
They were able to get (three) goals in the third. We’ve got some learning to do, but we’re definitely going in the right direction.”
MacLean was content with what he saw during Monday’s practice and says it’s up to the players to prepare themselves to play another elite squad.
“We’re playing a very good team — there are no bad teams in this league — and we have to go in there and win a game and get some momentum back on our side.”