INSIDE HOCKEY

Michael Ryder just finished his first practice in over a week and had just addressed the Boston media on his recovery from broken bones and cartilage in his sinus area compliments of an Antoine Vermette high-stick February 5 in Ottawa. He told the assembled reporters that he could not blow his nose, and if he was to sneeze, he had to do it with his mouth wide open in order to minimize the pressure on his sinus area. Throughout the interview Ryder was trying to catch his breath and repeatedly sipped water. But he also repeatedly smiled.

“Why are you smiling so much?” Ryder was asked after the media scrum broke up and left. “You’ve got two plates in your head and you’re in pain every time you breathe.”

“I’m happy with things and with the way the season has gone other than this,” he said recently. “I don’t know. I’m just happy to be back around the guys. I love my team, this city and I don’t know, things are just so much better now.”

Looking at his stitched up and swollen face, someone who didn’t know what he was referring to, would’ve thought that the doctors may need to check his head again, but for anyone that knows the situation Ryder was in at this time last year, it was easy to understand how he could look past this painful injury that actually could’ve been a lot worse had Vermette’s stick hit a bit to the left or right and hit one of his eyes. Ryder isn’t just feeling lucky over that; he feels lucky to have been given another chance, to have a coach that never stopped believing in him, to be having s successful season on the ice and obviously to be making a hefty salary playing the game he loves.

“It’s tough sitting out but I’ll be back in there soon and I’m looking forward to helping the guys out,” said Ryder. “We’re going to need to pick it up down the stretch here and we’ve got something good here, so I’m psyched to get back in there.”

This wasn’t the case at this time last year, as Ryder was struggling through a season he has done his best to forget. After back-to-back 30-goal seasons in Montreal, Ryder struggled through a season that saw him light the lamp only fourteen times and fall out of favor with head coach Guy Carbonneau. Carbonneau ended up scratching Ryder ten times in the regular season and then eight times during the playoffs, including three games during the first round series with his current team.

While Ryder admits his performance dropped last season, to this day he is still puzzled as to what went wrong with Carbonneau and the lack of communication that developed between him and Ryder. Ryder never aired out the dirty laundry between him and Carbonneau in the Montreal media last spring, but earlier this season he did divulge some of his thoughts and feelings on the topic to the Boston media.

“I don’t know really what happened because no one said anything to me,” he said. “Was I not playing well, sure, but I just wish there was more communication. When you don’t know what’s going on it’s pretty tough to tell what you’re doing right or if you’re doing anything wrong. There were a few coaches I’d talk to and I talked to [assistant coach] Kirk Muller and [GM] Bob Gainey a few times, but never to Carbonneau.”

When the scratches became more frequent and then when Ryder played only four of thirteen Montreal postseason games, the writing was on the wall, that Ryder an impending unrestricted free agent wouldn’t be back playing in the only city he has known during his career that began with a 63-point rookie campaign in 2003-04. Ryder was on his third straight one-year deal with Montreal and there was a mutual feeling as July 1 approached, that it would be his last.

“It was time to move on,” Ryder said. “They knew it and I knew it, but there’s no hard feelings and I’m here now.”

Where Ryder is, is in the midst of a solid bounce-back season playing for a coach who has always seemed to bring out the best in him, Claude Julien. Julien has coached Ryder for parts of his junior, AHL and NHL careers and both he and Ryder are happy they were reunited once again.

“It’s good to know that the coach has confidence in you and knows what to expect out of you. It definitely gives your game confidence and I think that maybe is a big part of what happened last year with me,” said Ryder. “Claude has always been straight with me, good or bad and I appreciate that. We know each other and that definitely helps on and off the ice.”

Julien concurred and has been very happy with Ryder’s performance thus far.

“When you know a certain player, it's certainly a lot easier to work with him," Julien said yesterday. “I've had the privilege of having [Ryder] since he was 17, so I knew what he was capable of doing. I probably have a better idea of what buttons to push, because I know him that well. I thought he was one of those guys that could be a 30-plus goal-scorer again. So far, he's shown that he's capable of doing that."

But while Julien thinks that Ryder has been as advertised thus far, he also thinks his longtime pupil has been successful at doing the little things the media and fans maybe sometimes fail to recognize Ryder for.

“One of the tings I think we miss most about Michael when he hasn’t been in our lineup is the way he controls the puck,” Julien pointed out. “He uses his body so well to protect the puck and that really allows the other guys on the ice to find the open lanes or position themselves where they need to be. He’s so good along the boards.

He is also a better two-way player then maybe he’s given credit for. We’ve seen him get back to that this season and that really fits in well with our system out there.”

Ryder’s teammates echoed Julien and admitted they definitely benefit off Ryder’s puck-possession skills.

“I think all we really heard about him or knew him for was his scoring and what a great shot he has but he doesn’t only shoot well, he’s very strong on the skates and skates well and along the boards,” Ryder’s linemate for most of this season David Krejci said. “He can really out muscle the other guy. I was really impressed with that about him. He can go on the wall and skate really well and outmuscle the other guy.”

Ryder, Krejci and rookie Blake Wheeler had formed one of the Bruins best lines when all three are healthy, and provided much needed depth to pull attention away from their top line, usually Milan Lucic, Marc Savard and Phil Kessel. Wheeler, who has proven to be quite a sniper himself this season and when he uses his body, resembles Ryder’s all-around game, simply loves playing with Ryder.

“Well, he has such an unbelievable shot and obviously that’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think of him,” Wheeler said. “You are always looking for him, because he is so dangerous around any part of the net, he can put the puck away from practically anywhere on the ice.

But he is also a strong player and protects the puck in all 3 zones. The way he plays in the offensive zone, rough and hard and gets into the dirty areas and can win puck battles. Well, that translates into D zone as well, because if there is a puck battle along his wall he is going to come up with the puck more often than not. It goes hand and hand with each other and he does a great job in both ends.”

Wheeler also discussed how Ryder is perfect for the Bruins on-ice philosophy and systems.

“Our team philosophy is to play tough D and good systematically,” Wheeler said. “If everyone is in the right spot as a five-man unit that is when you get your scoring chances and for our line, our success comes from just worrying about your defensive responsibilities in the neutral zone and where you are supposed to be. Then, if you are in the right spot that is when you create turnovers and get scoring chances. Michael’s size and play along the boards just really helps out there.”

Ryder has really enjoyed playing with Wheeler and Krejci and this team as a whole. He has felt comfortable on and off the ice right from training camp.

“Those two guys are just so skilled and it’s great playing with them,” Ryder said of Wheeler and Krejci. “They just see the ice so well and have so many ways they cane beat you with. But that’s how this whole team is. There is just so much talent here and we really have that depth you need.

Off the ice, this is just a great bunch of guys. I had heard they were a tight-knit group before I came here, but now I really know. They really welcomed me in from the beginning of camp and it’s a great team to be on.”

So while Ryder still misses parts of his Montreal experience, such as his friends and the great restaurants, he appears to have truly moved on to the next chapter in his career and is hoping this chapter includes a long playoff run and possibly being part of Boston’s first Stanley Cup in 37 years.

“I still have a bunch of friends back in Montreal and yeah, I miss the good food, but there’s plenty of good restaurants here and I’ve got new friends,” he said. “As for a Stanley Cup, I don’t know, we take it game by game, but yeah that would be pretty cool to be part of here. The fans are back into it and I’m sure it would be crazy if we won.”