Yes, the right winger - who came in mired in a slump of six games without a goal - was among the most active Bruins in the offensive zone during their 3-2 shootout loss to Vancouver, landing a game-high seven shots on net, with another blocked and still another off-target. He made his biggest mark, however, late in the opening stanza with a redirect of a Marc Savard wrister from the right point.

Savard took a cross-ice feed from Patrice Bergeron into the zone, cut across to the right circle, and swooped back to the blue line, where he fired a waist-high shot. From the low slot, and with Marco Sturm screening goalie Roberto Luongo, Ryder flicked it with his backhand for the Bruins’ second power-play goal and a 2-0 lead less than 15 minutes into the contest.

“Those are goals that you want to get, throw pucks on the net and get in traffic,’’ Ryder said. “When you have a rough time scoring, those are the ones we’re going to get right now. Maybe when we start getting goals more consistently, that’s when the other things start falling.’’

Just when, however, remains the riddle for the Bruins. Three straight games with 40-plus shots, and just five goals to show. When will it end?

Such is the journey, too, for Ryder, whose stat totals for the season (13-9 -22 in 56 games) reflect a guy not living up to his $4 million-a-year salary since coming over from the Canadiens two summers ago. Last week, rampant reports surfaced that the Bruins were actively shopping him. Asked about those rumors Thursday, Ryder said he doesn’t pay attention to that kind of stuff, having been seasoned by the media scrutiny from his four years in Montreal.

He has remained healthy but also inconsistent. So this month has so far been a welcome change, as he has landed 15 shots in his last three games.

There were the two wristers he threw at Luongo within 30 seconds late in the second, first from 30 feet, then from 10 off a feed from Blake Wheeler. In the final five seconds of overtime, he landed two more backhands, first a loose puck in the low slot after Savard was dragged away by Alexander Edler (he was called for a high stick) followed by another out of the ensuing faceoff after Bergeron won it (Luongo easily gloved it).

“In his case, he’s in the same situation that the rest of the team is in,’’ coach Claude Julien said. “Seven shots and good quality chances . . . I mean, he tipped that puck in on the power play, but he had some other quality chances. Guys are not sitting there not trying - they’re trying.’’

Over the last few months, when the second line of Wheeler, Ryder, and David Krejci has excelled, Julien has credited them for remaining unpredictable, keeping their feet moving to keep the defenders guessing.

“I think the last few games we’ve been doing a lot of good things like that,’’ Ryder said. “We’ve definitely controlled the puck a lot better in our offensive zone, not throwing pucks away and giving the other team the puck. That’s the one thing we’ve wanted to get better at, puck positioning. We’re doing that, and that’s why we’re getting so many scoring opportunities.’’

Funny, though, that to break out of his slump, Ryder resorted to the chore of many slumping scorers - he crashed the net, and hoped something would land.