Pyatt’s versatile grinding paying off
It only looked like Tom Pyatt took it easier on the turkey, pumpkin pie, cookies and chocolate than the rest of us during the Christmas break.
Pyatt, who had some extra jump in his step during Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers, says he held his own in the eating department, thank you very much.
“No, I ate a lot of food there,” he said, with a laugh. “Sometimes, it’s just about the rest and working on a few things over the four-day rest. I had a few opportunities there (against the Rangers), where I was able to go full speed a little bit.”
Senators fans coming out for the Daniel Alfredsson sweater retirement party Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings figure to be seeing a lot more of Pyatt, who has served as Mr. Versatility for coach Guy Boucher through the opening 35 games.
After Zack Smith suffered an abdominal sprain against the Rangers, Pyatt served as a left winger on a line with Derick Brassard and Mark Stone at Wednesday’s practice.
He doesn’t have the hands to be a consistent first-line player — he has four goals and five assists — and he’ll never be mistaken for all-star left wingers Alex Ovechkin, Artemi Panarin or Brad Marchand.
At the same time, he’s a Boucher favourite because he can easily adapt to new situations, comfortable moving from line to line and from left side to right side.
“When you look at (Smith), he’s a hard-grinding guy that does the dirty work and I think Pyatt does that, too,” said Boucher.
“What I’m trying to (do) ... is put a reliable (left wing) guy here, trying to keep the same identity on that line without taking away the depth throughout the lineup.”
It’s an experiment, to be sure — “we’ll see how it goes after five minutes,” Boucher joked — and it’s certainly possible that Mike Hoffman could be back with Brassard and Stone if the Senators struggle offensively.
To start Thursday, Hoffman and Curtis Lazar will play as wingers with Jean-Gabriel Pageau, while the line of Ryan Dzingel, Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan will stay intact.
Casey Bailey, recalled from Binghamton of the AHL, will play on a fourth line alongside Chris Kelly and Chris Neil.
As the parts move here, there and everywhere, Pyatt will naturally take whatever he can get.
“I don’t change my game if I’m playing with more skill guys,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s good to have a guy like me on that line because I can go to the net and do simple things and they can be creative and do what they do.”
The key to surviving a long NHL season is adapting to injuries and ever-changing situations and the Senators have had their fill through the first third of the season.
“This is not normal managing and I have never lived this,” Boucher said, referring to having No. 1 goaltender Craig Anderson away to be with his wife, Nicholle, as she undergoes cancer treatments.
As such, Mike Condon will again draw the start against Detroit. Condon, who took the blame for allowing two weak goals against New York, will be appearing in his 13th consecutive game. Condon will be in the net for the foreseeable future, with Matt O’Connor remaining as his backup.
The Senators will be getting little sympathy from the beat up Red Wings. Detroit, littered with injuries, is a shadow of its former self, only one point out of the Eastern Conference basement.
Despite losing against the Rangers, the Senators are a confident bunch.
“Looking back, (during even strength), we were clearly the better team, it wasn’t even close,” said Boucher, referring to several big saves by Rangers goaltender Antti Raanta and a few unlucky shots off the post.
“We were pretty happy with our game,” said Pyatt. “We did a lot of good things. There are going to be many games like that during an 82game season, where you play well and don’t get rewarded.”