Der Vorhafen » sion before advancing to the Grey Cup where they

The news that Bobby Ryan is undergoing season-ending surgery did not come as a complete surprise. Earlier this week, head coach Paul MacLean confirmed that Ryan had been dealing with a nagging injury since November – our first tangible clue that the winger has not been 100 per cent healthy all season. But for the past few weeks, the whispers had been growing louder and louder that Ryan was playing hurt. When the club returned to practice after the Olympic break, the winger took a couple of maintenance days that raised a few eyebrows. Now that the club has confirmed he was playing for the past four months with a sports hernia injury, it forces us to reassess our opinion of Ryans first season in Ottawa. In a strange twist, every player involved in the massive Ducks-Senators trade from last summer suffered a significant injury this season. Jakob Silfverberg had a broken hand, Stefan Noesen tore the ACL in his knee and now Ryan is done with the sports hernia injury. (The Ducks may want to order some bubble wrap to protect their first round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft that they will receive from Ottawa). When he was famously left off the Team USA roster for the Olympics, many suggested that Ryan was crushed by the bad news and went into a prolonged slump. He scored just two goals in 12 games in the month of January and looked like a shadow of himself at times. Certainly, the Team USA snub hurt him on a personal level, but its rather obvious that the physical pain of a sports hernia injury was the bigger factor for his declining numbers. Ryans limited ice time was also a source of controversy in this market, as fans and media openly questioned MacLeans deployment of his No. 1 sniper. He was taken off a unit with Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur and was given third-line minutes instead. When the Sens were swept in Alberta earlier this month, Ryan played fewer than 15 minutes on each night – causing some to wonder aloud if there was a rift between star player and coach. In reality, the reduced ice time was likely the result of his nagging injury. In a statement to the media on Thursday, general manager Bryan Murray indicated that Ryan tried to play through the injury and doesnt appear to be concerned about how he was used by MacLean. "I know there were some times in games that he felt like he couldnt contribute very much but he stayed on the ice as required by the coaching staff and tried very hard to be a big factor for our team," Murray said. "I think he was and obviously we like that kind of person and want to treat him right in return." If you look at Ryans on-ice production from this season (time on ice to produce a point), you can see a significant drop-off once the calendar flipped to December: Month Time on ice/point October 20:32 November 16:17 December 24:42 January 33:10 February 46:40 March 41:47 Ryans struggles were a red flag for many Ottawa fans, who were concerned about his lack of productivity and compete level down the stretch. With a contract set to expire at the end of next season, there were more than a few fans who were suggesting it was time to move on from the 26-year-old winger. But now that we have a clear picture of Ryans health, its a little more accurate to say that his first season was not a complete disaster. The fact that he led this team in goal-scoring with 23 despite the injury is fairly impressive. Considering the recovery time from this injury is about six weeks, GM Bryan Murray says there is every reason to believe that Ryan will come into training camp next season ready to return to his 30-goal form. "Well, he certainly started very, very well. He shoots the puck awfully well, he scored some goals, his line obviously carried the team early on. He was a big part of that," Murray said. "I think after the hernia started to get aggravated a little bit, he seemed to shoot the puck a bit less. Overall, very happy and satisfied with his overall play and we know hell be a real contributor going forward." That last comment from the general manager seems like the one that carries the most weight moving into this summer. Nobody is certain if the Sens will lock up Ryan with a long-term extension in the coming months, but one thing is clear: this organization hasnt soured on him after a disappointing season in which he played hurt. Kahale Warring Texans Jersey . Auld made 37 saves in a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. It was Ottawas first game without starter Anderson, who is out indefinitely after cutting his hand Wednesday night, and it was evident the team wasnt sure how to deal with the change in goal. Tytus Howard Youth Jersey . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better. http://www.officialhoustontexanspro.com/Justin-reid-texans-jersey/ . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Cullen Gillaspia Youth Jersey . That little deal worked out in a big way for the Mavericks. Nowitzki had 21 points Tuesday night to pass Oscar Robertson for 10th on the NBAs career scoring list, leading the Mavs to a 95-83 victory over the Utah Jazz. DOnta Foreman Texans Jersey . The Henry Burris-led squad finished second in the East Division before advancing to the Grey Cup where they ultimately fell to the home field advantage wielding Saskatchewan Roughriders.The Winnipeg Jets look for a successful start to the new season against a club that shares their history. The Jets take on the newly-christened Arizona Coyotes - the former Phoenix Coyotes and former Winnipeg Jets - in Glendale in their season opener. Viewers in the Winnipeg region can watch the Jets vs. Coyotes live tonight on TSN3 at 8pm ct. The game can also be heard on TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg starting at 7pm ct. Winnipeg has missed the playoffs in each of its three seasons since moving from Atlanta and last season finished last in the Central Division. That came in the Jets first campaign in the Western Conference after shifting from the East in realignment. The Jets will open the season with Paul Maurice as its head coach, a role he took over from the fired Claude Noel in January. Winnipeg went 11-3-1 in Maurices first 15 games -- including a 5-1 win over Phoenix in his debut on Jan. 13 -- but a six-game slide in early March sealed the clubs fate. Winnipeg did not have an active offseason, signing center Mathieu Perreault. However, the franchise did opt to keep forward Evander Kane, who scored 30 goals as a 20-year-old in 2011-12 but has tallied only 36 times in 111 game since. The Jets are also expected to move Dustin Byfuglien from defense to the wing, a role he filled while helping Chicago win the Stanley Cup in 2010 after getting drafted as a blueliner. The 6-foot-5 American was moved back to the blue line after getting dealt to Atlanta in the summer of 10 and became an All-Star defenseman capable of creating havoc on the rush. Byfuglien and 21-year-old rookie Adam Lowry, who had 33 points in 64 AHL games last season, will try to help on offense, while the likes of Tobias Enstrom, Zach Bogosian and Jacob Trouba pick up the slack on defense. Ondrej Pavelec, signed to a five-year deal prior to 2012-13, struggled to a 22-26-7 mark last season with a 3.01 GAA and .901 save percentage. Hell have a chance to get off to a good start to this season tonight as he is 4-1-1 lifetime versus the Coyotes with a 1.61 GAA and .945 save percentage. Winnipeg made one line-up change on Thursday afternoon, adding Paul Postma on defence in place of Grant Clitsome. The Jets, who open this season on a three-game road trip, won all three meetings with the Coyotes last season and have won four in a row in this series after going winless in seven straight encounters. Doan was the seventh overall pick of the 1995 draft when the franchise was still in Winnipeg and is the last remaining Jet to be playing in the NHL following Teemu Selannes recent retirement. The Coyotes franchise is entering its 18th season since leaving the city of Winnipeg for the desert. There hasnt been a ton of success for the club since and it hopes to turn things around under a slightly new name.dddddddddddd The Coyotes have missed the playoffs in two straight seasons and in eight of the last 11 campaigns. However, there is still reason for hope as Arizona failed to secure a postseason spot by just four points in 2013 before finishing two points removed from the eighth seed last season. While the Coyotes sport two of the most dangerous offensive blueliners in the league -- Keith Yandle and Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- they are hoping to get more help from their forwards. That despite losing their second-leading scorer from last year in Radim Vrbata to free agency and buying out center Mike Ribeiro. One day shy of his 38th birthday, captain Shane Doan does return for his 19th season and center Sam Gagner is expected to make his Coyotes debut. Gagner was the sixth overall pick of the 2007 draft by Edmonton and was traded twice in the offseason, going from the Oilers to Tampa Bay to Arizona in one day. Gagner had just 37 points with the Oilers last season and the Coyotes are hoping he can produce in a bigger role. Arizona begins the season with a four-game homestand and will have Mike Smith in net. After a breakout 2011-12 season, Smith went 27-21-10 in 2013-14 with a 2.64 goals against average and .915 save percentage. He did get hot towards the end of the campaign, posting a 1.94 GAA and .934 save percentage over a 16-game span from Feb. 1-March 22, but suffered a season-ending injury on March 24. Smith is 1-2-1 with a 2.22 GAA and .923 save percentage in four games against the Jets. Jets lines Forwards: Ladd - Little - Frolik Kane - Scheifele - Wheeler Lowry - Perrault - Byfuglien Galiardi - Slater - Thorburn Defence: Stuart - Trouba Bogosian - Enstrom Postma - Pardy Goalies: Pavelec Hutchinson Coyotes Lines Forwards: Boedker - Vermette - Doan Erat - Hanzal - Moss Klinkhammer - Gagner - Korpikoski McMillan - Vitale - Crombeen Defence: Ekman-Larsson - Michalek Yandle - Stone Summers - Murphy Goalies: Smith Dubnyk TSN Game Notes WPG was 3-0-0 vs ARZ last season, winning twice in a shootout ARZ is 8-0-1-1 all-time at home vs WPG/ATL ARZ: 7-1-0 in season openers at home since moving to PHX Missed playoffs 2 straight seasons 2 playoff series wins in Phoenix 9-0-1 first 10 home games in 13-14 Yandle led team in PTS (53) WPG: 5th time WPG/ATL have opened season on road (2-2-0) 3years ago today the new Jets player their first game Missed playoffs 7 straight seasons 0 playoff series wins in franchise history 6 players 18 or more goals in 13-14 Byfuglien was in on 65% (26/40) of the teams PPG in 13-14 (8G, 18A) Byfuglien 1PT shy of 300 for his career ' ' '