from Will Burchfield of 97.1 The Ticket,

Detroit was a comforting situation for Ryan. So much had changed in his life over the past year. Here was a chance to retain his role as a leader. And here was a chance to play. Here was a chance to chase those dreams in the back of his mind of racking up goals and lighting up crowds and "getting back to the Bobby Ryan I was." Ryan calls these dreams 'selfish.' Another word might be 'human.'

"For me personally, this was a prove-it year," Ryan said Monday after his two-goal game. "And an opportunity to take the step that I should have taken years ago but hadn’t been able to because of the outside stuff. So (this start) means a lot."

For now, that's all it is. A start. Ryan has put seven pucks on goal and four have gone in. That won't continue. But the jump in his step is back, and he never lost his nose for the net. They were right about Bobby Ryan. He's the kind of player you want in your locker room. Perhaps they were wrong about him, too. He's still the kind of player you want high in your lineup.

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added 11:03am, Watch Jeff Blashill on Ryan and a little on Larkin plus other topics below.