Demers Diary: Witnessing History; In the Playoff Hunt
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By
Jason Demers jasondemers5 / Florida Panthers Defenseman
It's something that you're proud to be a part of. It's a part of history. It's something that when you're old and out of hockey that you can look back on say that you witnessed and that you knew those guys personally.
We took a group photo after the game, but I'm sure that I'll also steal some stuff from Jagr's bags at the end of the year without him knowing it. My plan is to slowly start stealing little mementos from both him and Luongo. I think I've got plenty of time, though. Those guys could probably play for 10 more years.
It's definitely been amazing to see how those guys constantly work every day. For them, every day is a workday, and the fact that they've been doing it this long and this consistently is a testament to them. They take it seriously. It's not just a fluke that you get to play that many games or be that dominant for that many years. It's great to approach the game like that and it gives us an extra boost to watch them do it. You learn from people and players like that.
In this game, milestones are very big and you always want to help your teammates reach them. I remember my first year in Dallas, when Jamie Benn was going for the scoring title, we were out of the playoffs and our season was finished, but guys all wanted to play for his milestone. When he got it, it was amazing. It was like a small consolation prize for the year. We all pull for each other to be successful. We all want each other to succeed. When one guy succeeds, it helps the team as a whole. At the same time, when the team succeeds, individuals will benefit from that.
As for my own numbers this year, I've had a lot of good teammates that have been helping me put up points. I can't get goals if I don't get passes from teammates and I can't get assists if guys don't put the puck in the net. We have a great team. We didn't have the start we wanted, but I think we're going to turn this thing around. We're confident that we can do that and we definitely have the skill and the team to do it. Like I said, when the team benefits, then everyone individually benefits.
It's great that our division has all been struggling, but we know that we have a good division and that the slump for the division as a whole isn't going to last forever. I think teams are all starting to figure out their identities and it's time for us to make our move.
I thought travel in the West was tough, but it's really been a tough schedule for our team up until this point. That being said, I do prefer to get those trips out of the way early because I'd rather have those games at home later in the season. That way, you can kind of our control your own fate. I've always believed that you have more control over things happening in a game when you're at home.
Now that we're back at home, however, we've really got to take advantage of this homestand, starting with a four-point game against the Bruins on Thursday. We want to keep pace with them and stay in the hunt no matter what. It's an early playoff game this year for us.
Once these next few games have wrapped up, I'll be having some friends and family come to town for the holidays. We're just going to cook some food and hopefully I'll get the mashed potatoes right this time. It'll be good to take a little break from the game and relax, take a step back and rest the body.
I'm also going to try and get some shopping done today. I don't know what I'm going to buy, but it's going to be tough. I wish people would literally just tell me what they want and send me receipt, but I guess that's not the Christmas spirit unfortunately. I've got a few ideas, but I keep it when it comes to buying gifts --Lululemon, Bath & Body Works, things like that.
No matter what, It'll be a good time. My family already loves it here. It's such a beautiful place to play and to live. The surrounding area is amazing. It's nice to have them down for a couple days and get them away from the snow.
