Senators forward Bobby Ryan is hoping some practice time will help things come together for him and his linemates, Mika Zibanejad and Milan Michalek.
Michalek is the latest left winger to skate with Ryan and Zibanejad, replacing the injured Clarke MacArthur.
“Even through training camp, Mika and I only skated together in one game,” Ryan told the Ottawa Citizen. “It wasn’t consistent, it was a bit messy. So now we’re having a week here where we can get some reps, get some flow, some 2-on-1s, 3 on 2s, and build from there.”
The Sens don’t play again until Thursday. When they do, they’d love to get some production beyond the first line of Mike Hoffman, Kyle Turris and Mark Stone. That trio has combined for eight even-strength goals. Everyone else combined has five.
Ryan has one goal in six games, and just 11 shots total. For a cap hit of $7.25 million, that’s not enough.
Michalek, with a cap hit of $4 million, has yet to score at even strength, though he does have a pair of power-play goals.