March 1 practice quotes: Alec Martinez

On his recovery from an upper-body injury:
“I’m feeling good now. It’s just a matter of getting practices in. Darryl hasn’t told me anything yet, but I’m ready to go. But it’s obviously a coach’s decision. I understand if he wanted me to get a couple of practices in first, but I felt good out there today. I’m just excited to be back amongst the living.”

On if he’s planning on making the trip:
“Yeah. No one’s told me [otherwise] yet, so I’ve got a bag packed. Unless someone tells me in the next 20 minutes. Darryl’s rule is if you can practice, he wants you to travel. That’s why I didn’t last week.”

On rejoining his teammates for a full practice:
“It makes a big difference just being out there with the guys and just feeling like you’re a part of things again. It gets pretty tough when you’re injured like that. It doesn’t take very long where you don’t really feel like you’re a part of the team. Just like I said, it feels good to be back. It’s exciting. I’m laughing and joking with the guys out there and working hard. It’s a lot better than just skating with a stopwatch and no pucks.”

On whether there were any difficulties or hesitations:
“I feel good. I can shoot the puck. I’ve tested it out. I’ve thrown myself into the glass a few times, and we had a little bit of battling on the two-one-ones, and it felt good. Every day I’ve noticed a big difference, so today it’s even better than it was two days ago.”

On the team’s improved play while he was absent from the lineup:
“The team’s playing really well. I’m glad that things are going well. We’ve strung a few good games together. We had a good road trip and a good couple of games at home. It’s awesome. Obviously I hope we can keep it going.”