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I ve learned that some times it s better to decompress for 20 minutes before going home. You don t want to bring negative energy home, Canadiens' Erik Cole says. MONTREAL - We all have bad days at the office, but they don t feature 21,273 people surrounding a cubicle to boo typing mistakes.The most loathsome, in-your-face/on-your-case micromanager imaginable is positively a pussycat compared t football on tv o a Montreal hockey crowd. And the people sitting in $200 seats drinking $10 beers have not been happy through the first two weeks of the season.The team s worst start in living memory has produced a contagion of stick-squeezing. The snowballing depletion of confidence manifests itself in mental lapses and blown opportunities: the Canadiens are near the top of the NHL in shots on goal, not far fro football on tv m the bottom in scoring.There have been murmurs of discontent that rise into crescendos of rage on the talk shows and the roar would be exponentially louder if CKAC Sports were still on the air.In short, not a fun time in Hockeytown. I wondered how the players avoid bringing home all that Sturm und Drang a German term that describes some radio putz who thinks he s Scotty Bowman. It must b football on tv e difficult, especially for family men, to leave the game at the rink, thereby avoid spending their off hours in the kind of funk that afflicts harried proles who curse their alarm clocks. Last night was a tough night of sleep, I won t lie, Erik Cole(notes) was saying after the Canadiens practice on Tuesday.The team s primary offseason acquisition scored his first goal of the season Monday night football on tv , but the loss to Florida left Cole tossin and turnin .By the time he got to practice, however, Cole was on an even keel, balancing hockey with the family life that provides refuge from the rink. As I ve gotten older, I think it s become easier, Cole said.He ll be 33 next month and is in his 11th NHL season. I ve learned that some times it s better to decompress for 20 minutes before going home. football on tv You don t want to bring negative energy home. Cole s sensible approach to his livelihood is no surprise. In his short time with the team, the veteran power forward has become a go-to guy for thoughtful analysis. Cole is intelligent, articulate and unfailingly cooperative with the media hordes who swarm the Canadiens on a daily basis.At home, Cole has a 7-year-old son who loves hockey and loves t football on tv he team. He likes coming in and meeting the guys, Cole said. Every morning he ll come in and ask me how the game went because he s only allowed to watch the first period before bedtime. The Florida game was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes. Cole had scored on the power play, sending his son to bed happy.HR department file cabinets are bulging with the employee assistance program files of men and women football on tv whose problems at work jeopardize family life and vice-versa. But a professional athlete whose team is going through a difficult time can t be yelling at his children and kicking his dog. There are times when you analyze and over-analyze, Brian Gionta(notes) said on Tuesday morning. But there are other times when you have to put it behind you and get past it. Family life serves the sanity-savin football on tv g function of putting hockey in perspective. That s what makes things easier, the Canadiens captain added. You go home and realize there are more things (to life) than that. It doesn t matter win or lose. You have to leave it at the rink. On the other side of the room, Jaroslav Spacek(notes) suggested veteran players might have it easier compartmentalizing tough times on the ice. When I was sin football on tv gle, no kids, I thought about hockey too much, Spacek said. You have to just go and play and not think too much. Some guys carry the last game into the next game. I think that s wrong. For me, going home is a way to forget about everything, win or lose, Spacek added. Go home, maybe have a couple beers and unwind. When we win, my older son wants to talk about it. But after a loss, I just play w football on tv ith the kids, maybe go out for a walk and forget about it. That s the way I try to relax. Then the next day you come back focused and ready to compete. Focus, Spacek said, has to be short-term: Play 20 good minutes and take it from there, building on the positives. The strategy precludes moping #8230; especially, Spacek says, as you wait for a win and you get desperate and more desperate. The de football on tv fenceman admits leaving the game at the rink can be a challenge in Montreal. In Buffalo, Spacek said, citing the previous stop on his NHL tour, it would be different. But here hockey is everywhere, people talking about what s going on. You have to hide, stay away from everything, and then bring your best every night. And speak another language. People talk hockey to me in French, I answer in Cze football on tv ch and everything is better, said Spacek, one of the Canadiens great kidders a quality that serves him well in grim times.mboone@montrealgazette.com Play Fantasy Hockey, now with Pro Leagues! Updated Oct 26, 5:05 pm EDT football on tv
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