Posted by Daniel Alfredsson on March 24, 2009

We're excited about the way we've been playing as we head back out on the road again. We also appreciate that our fans feel that way, too. They’ve seen the way we’ve played. We’ve put some good winning streaks together and they see the way our line is playing. Our defence is playing really well and our specialty teams have been very good lately.

Everyone is starting to wonder now about whether we can make it to the playoffs. Bigger miracles have happened, no question. And once you get momentum, it can carry you a long way. We prefer not to talk about it too much. I think it is still quite a ways away and a lot of things need to go our way. But we’re in this situation and we’re giving ourselves a chance. Nobody would have thought that two months ago.

We can tell the fans are enjoying what they've seen lately. We’re not only winning games but it’s more fun coming here and watching us. It’s a great night out again and that’s what we want it to be for them, especially because there have been so many negatives going on around the economy and what not. Even if we don’t win, it should be fun to watch the game and a great effort. We couldn’t say that all the time in the first half of the season. Now, with us winning again, that certainly adds to the fans' experience. But I think just the way we’re playing makes it worth the drive out here for them.

No matter what ends up happening, I think it’s important that we finish the season on a positive note. If Cory stays on as the coach – which is likely after what he’s done – it’s important for everyone in here to see the way we can play and believe again. It’s a feeling you need to have. When you lose as much as we did earlier in the season, you start doubting your abilities. We knew we could still be a good team but until we show it, it’s not there.

We’re going into this road trip with a lot of positives. Playing Carolina, they’re hot and it’s a fun challenge. We know nothing is going to come easy, we know we have to work hard and we need to have our specialty teams going. But we’re enjoying the challenge, so we’re looking forward to what lies ahead.

Posted by Daniel Alfredsson on January 23, 2009

The all-star break has arrived and for me, it's definitely needed. Especially when you get older, you need to rest up. It's a good chance, especially when you have a family, to go somewhere for three days. We're going to go up to Tremblant for three days and go tobogganing. My two oldest boys, Hugo and Loui, are going to ski a bit and I'll probably go up and help them.

It's good to just have a different mindset, I guess, and forget about everything about hockey for three days and spend time with family. I think that's the biggest thing, the mental break from being at the rink every day. If you stay in Canada, it's hard to get away from the game. If you go down to Florida, it's not that hard. We get recognized pretty much wherever we go in Canada and you get reminded about it, but it's positive.

For me, just being with my family and playing with the kids, I'm going to have a lot more energy now in the next few days. It's good to go to bed at night. I don't have to sleep at 2 like you do after a game. I can play with the kids a lot more, so it's going to be fun.

Even though we've been playing well lately and it would be nice to keep that going, I need the break personally. We don't have too many of them during the year so when they come, we look forward to them. The all-star game is a tremendous experience, it really is, but personally, I'd prefer right now to be with family and re-energize for the rest of the season.

We're in a tough spot at the moment and we really have to look at taking things one day at a time when we return. We can't start worrying about what ifs. We've just got to try to win the next game every game. The next game is pretty much the biggest game of the year for us now. Win or lose, we want to come prepared the next day if it's a practice day or get ready if it's another game. Don't worry about what happened the day before or what's going to happen the next day. Let's just stay in the present.

It has been a lot more fun for us going into the all-star break on a positive note and it's going to be more fun coming back. It'll be easier to work out on the break as well. Everything goes smoother when you win.

Posted by Daniel Alfredsson on November 16, 2007

I played my 800th career game on Thursday night, and I'm feeling better than ever about my game. I've been lucky to stay fairly healthy, and you get smarter with age about that. Obviously, you know the routines and you know, on off-days, you probably have to ride the bike and stretch. When you're 25, you don't have to do that because you're loose and fine the next morning anyways. You look after yourself a little more, you pay a little more attention to what you eat than you used to, and how you work out. That kind of balances it out. I don't find it too hard.

I'm playing better now than I ever have. When I think about it, I kind of ask myself, what took me so long? I've said before that I changed my skates at Christmas last year and ever since, I've been playing really well and consistently. That's been a big kick for me and obviously, going to the Stanley Cup finals was a really big kick and we'd like to get back there.

The fans gave me a really nice ovation Thursday night when they announced it was my 800th game. They showed that they really appreciate what you do and what I've done throughout my career here. I'm very fortunate to be able to play in a Canadian city, where the fans are really knowledgeable. That makes it much more appreciative to me. I didn't expect that response Thursday night, and I didn't really know how to respond. But it's something I'll always remember.

A lot of the fans here have been Senators fans for 12 years. They've seen me throughout my career, and they know we've come from the bottom and now we're at the top. It's been a long road, but there's a connection there. Chris Phillips and Wade Redden have been here a long time, too. We appreciate that the fans support us throughout, and the same goes for them.

Posted by Daniel Alfredsson on November 9, 2007

Fans might ask what a team captain, such as myself, might feel the need to say or do after a game like Thursday’s loss to Washington, which ended our eight-game winning streak. My responsibility, as captain - all three of us - is to make sure we're ready every night. It's not going to work every time, but that's part of our responsibility. Sometimes it's not going to go your way. But I don't think, because you don't win, that you start screaming and yelling 'we should be better, we should do this.' Sometimes it's a very small margin between winning and losing. I think as long as you feel that we didn't do anything real dumb to lose the game, you've just got to move on and try to win the next one. That's probably where I come from.

The players on this team make it easy for me to be their captain. We've had a core of guys that have been here for a while, and they all understand the responsibilities we all have. Sometimes, it's not just me, it's everybody that knows we're not doing as well as we should, and we help each other out. That's what being a team is all about, helping each other out when you go through tough times and reminding each other when you're doing well, why it is that you're doing well.

To me, being the Senators captain gives me that responsibility to help the others, maybe to remind others they can do more. Maybe sometimes they're trying too hard. I think it's at those times that I can offer the most help. Talk to guys, help them out and push guys. I like the challenge that comes with it. I think I come to the rink every day prepared for practice. I want to be an example out there and show the young guys that it takes a lot of hard work to be a top team in this league. It doesn't come easily.

It’s hard to say much about other captains around the league, because you don’t really know what goes on behind locked doors. You know how certain captains play, but you don’t know how they handle themselves off the ice or how they handle the guys in the room. When I was younger, I played with Randy Cunneyworth, who was our captain at the time. He was a veteran guy and I learned a lot from him. And then you learn as you go through from other experiences yourself. Obviously, I’m much more experienced now than I was six or seven years ago.

Posted by Daniel Alfredsson on November 1, 2007

A lot of people have probably been wondering how we felt about having so few games in the last three weeks. I think I see it as a good time to rebuild your physique again, hit the gym more than you do. The big thing is you get to spend more time with your family. You try to see the positive in it. Obviously, we’re going to pay for it later in the year, but right now, we try to make the best of it.

I spent a lot of the down time with my family. You take the kids to whatever activities they have – soccer, skating or just going to the play park. I don’t have any problem killing time, that’s for sure.

Everybody’s excited to get back to playing tonight against Atlanta. It’ll be the same thing on Saturday (against Boston). We haven’t been in sync as you normally are, when you play three games a week. So mentally, it’s very important to prepare yourself and be ready when the puck drops. We’ve done a good job the previous games here at home, so I’d like to see that continue.

Tuesday night, Toronto is here and I expect the Leaf fans in the crowd will still be booing me whenever I touch the puck. But it doesn’t bother me. It’s something that started a few years back and just continued. We do have a really good rivalry with Toronto, and that’s kind of part of it. I don’t have a problem with it. It means I’m doing something good, I guess.