We've been able to turn things around a little bit these last few weeks. We've been starting to get on a roll and winning more and more games. With who we've beaten recently, we know we can beat any team. At this point, we're a team that expects to win each and every night now.

For us, these next six weeks or so is just about us having a playoff mentality every time we step onto the ice and knowing that we need to win close to all of our remaining 23 games. It's going to take a large effort from all the guys, but we're going to give it our all until the very end.

We're going to put the guys out there that want to win these games, and I think we've got the right personnel in this room to definitely do that. It's just going to be a matter of desperation.

Hockey's supposed to be a fun sport, right? When you're winning it's fun, and when you're playing well it's fun. The camaraderie in this locker room is really good. I think you can see that. We're a much better team when we're playing with confidence and having some fun out there.

Heading into the home stretch, we want to have fun and win games.

As for myself, I feel 100 percent back to normal after my surgery. I'm really getting back into the rhythm of things and starting to feel like myself again. It's obviously a little tough when you miss 27 games right in the middle of the season because you lose your timing a little bit and it can take time to get back into the swing of things, but I definitely feel like myself now.

That being said, even though I feel like my old self on the ice, I have felt different this season.

Ever since my son, Leo, was born in June, it's felt like he's out there with me all the time during games. I've got his name written on my chain and my sticks. He's also got a matching chain that my sister gave to him. With those things, I get to take part of him out there with me every night.

I know it's been said before, but having a kid really does change everything. It changes your life and your perspective on things. It's also made hockey different for me. I go out there now and I'm thinking about him, doing things for him. It's a whole different lifestyle now. He is my life.

At first it did feel like there was a little bit of pressure to play at the top of my game for him. I've gotten away from it a little bit, but it's just a matter of playing the same the way, thinking about the game the same way. I've been doing this for long enough, so I know what I'm capable of.

Moving forward, it's just a matter of going out there and playing the same way that I always have for the last five, six years. If I do that, I know things will fall into place. At the same time, everything has changed. I'm not just going out there to play a game of hockey anymore.

I'm going out there for him.

- Troch