Shots From The Point By OEL

GLENDALE --Our team is playing well right now and it's been fun to come to the rink for games and practices. It's not easy to win in this league, and to have a .500 record after starting 1-4-0 means a lot to our group. We're proud of how we're playing and we're all focused on continuing to play this way. We know more wins will come if we do. At the same time, we know we still have 72 games to play so we're tapping the brakes a little bit and not getting too carried away with ourselves.
Beating Tampa Bay the other night was a key moment for us. Everybody knows that team is a team that is always a Stanley Cup contender, so to play like we did against a team like that and win, 7-1, is a big deal for us. We've been building our game every day and a win like that gives us a lot of confidence moving forward. We just have to keep playing like we have. Our goalies have been amazing and have given us a chance to win every game. It's a lot easier to play aggressively on offense when you know the goalie in your net is playing so well.

I haven't scored a goal yet, but I feel this has probably been my best start to a season since I came into the league. I feel like I have had five or six good chances to score every night, but the puck just won't go in. I know I just have to stick with it, and keep doing the little things, and pay attention to the details, and keep shooting the puck. Hopefully, some pucks will start to go in for me soon.

I'm looking forward to playing Ottawa on Tuesday night. Having that team in town gives me a chance to see my friend Mikkel Boedker for a few hours. I haven't seen him in a while so it will be fun to catch up. There's a solid bond between us that I value very much. We still talk a lot and text a lot and see each other a few times in the off-season. In fact, he invited me to his wedding last summer and I was honored to be there for him. He's an unbelievable guy and I have a lot to thank him for. To be honest, I don't know if I'd be in the NHL right now if it wasn't for him. He helped me out so much when I first got here. He spoke Swedish to me when my English wasn't very good and took care of me when I was a young kid in a new and strange place. We spent a lot of time together for the first five years of my career and that meant a lot to me at a key part of my life.

I've been watching the World Series recently and congratulate the Red Sox on their win. They earned it. I like to watch other sports, too, and I try to stay up to date on the local teams like the Diamondbacks, the Cardinals and the Suns. The other night some of my teammates went to the Suns game, but somehow I didn't get the invite. I think those guys just wanted to show off a little bit. I heard they put on some nice shoes and were sitting front row for the game against LeBron James. Again, thanks for the invite guys. I guess I'm too old to hang with the young kids.
Thanks for reading.
-- OEL