FICKLE FINGER OF FATE
Bobby Ryan’s digital déjà vu
Bobby Ryan, his broken right index finger wrapped in ice, spoke about the frustration of having to deal with this ailment ... again.
The Ottawa Senators winger said after the club’s skate at Canadian Tire Centre Wednesday he’s doing a lot better than he was Saturday night after he left the club’s 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. But Ryan admits his sixth hand injury since 2014 is a little tough to take.
Ryan, the club’s highest paid player this season at US$7.25 million, needs his hands in order to do his job scoring goals and that’s why this string of injuries is so difficult.
“It’s the same kind of break and the same kind of circumstances with taking a shot off it,” said Ryan, who missed 11 games last season with a broken finger. “It’s broken. We’ll (look at it again) in a month and see where it’s at.”
This is especially hard on Ryan because he had got off to a strong start and picked up right where he left off in the NHL playoffs last spring with six assists in the club’s first six games.
“It’s deflating,” Ryan said. “I felt like we were off to a good start as a line, the team was going a little bit and then this happens. You work all summer and you want to have a good start and (eight) games into it this happens.”
Playing mostly with centre Derick Brassard and winger Mark Stone, the trio had good chemistry. Ryan had developed into a good setup man for the other two and he even made a good pass to Brassard for a goal against the Leafs before leaving the game in the third period.
Ryan was off to one of his better starts with the Senators since he was dealt here from the Anaheim Ducks in July 2013. He worked in the off-season to get prepared to have a strong year and wanted to bounce back from his inconsistent play through most of last year, before getting injured in February.
“We got through camp well and I had very good chemistry developing with Derick and Stoner,” Ryan said. “I felt like we were becoming, not the go-to line because we have a couple of them, but the line that was able to put points up every night and try to go head-to-head against every team’s top (defence) and lines.
“It’s the best I’ve felt in quite a while coming into a season.”
There has been discussion about Ryan wearing different gloves and better protection for his hands. He used a new manufacturer this season but there’s not a whole lot he can do about getting protection because he needs to be able to shoot the puck with good force.
“I changed into a different brand this year and I wasn’t picking gloves based on protection,” Ryan said. “It certainly weighed in and the gloves I used this year are a different brand from the last couple. I picked them for comfort level and No. 2 because the padding was a little bigger.
“I felt like there was an extra layer of protection there. There’s no way around it when you take a direct shot, you’re certainly putting yourself in that position and that’s just the way it happens when you get hit directly between the pads.”
Ryan has had so much experience with these injuries he really didn’t need a doctor or an X-ray to tell him the finger was broken.
“I knew before the trainers did,” Ryan said. “You go for X-rays and I told them we didn’t need it because I’ve felt that same feeling five times now. I was well aware before I even got in the room that it was broken.”
Ryan is trying not to get down about all the injuries to his hands and calls what it a really bad string of bad luck. What else can explain it?
“People have asked me about more padding but then you sacrifice feeling in the hands and your gloves are heavier.
“I put more padding in and used the most I could possibly use but when you take a direct shot the chances are you’re going to break it.”