We’re in Buffalo to start a five-game road trip that will eventually take us all the way across Western Canada. I certainly haven’t gone through a road trip like this in my life and it’s going to be a new experience for me. I’m going to be relying on the veteran guys to know where to go in those cities and to get used to the time changes. We’re crossing three time zones, so that will be a challenge in itself. But it’ll be a lot of fun. I’ve got family in a lot of those cities, too, so it’ll be nice to see them as well.

Senators forward Colin Greening says the five-game road trip that begins tonight in Buffalo can provide a good bonding experience (Getty Images).

I played junior for a year in Nanaimo, B.C., so I’ve been to Vancouver before. I’ve never actually been to Calgary or Edmonton, but I’ve got some friends and family there and they always tried to get me out there when I was younger. But I always had hockey or soccer in the summer, so I couldn’t go. It’ll be nice to get out there and see them on their home turf for once.

If you look at our schedule for this trip, we’ve got a few days where we’d have a chance to see some of the sights. But it really depends on your situation. There might be guys who are banged up who just want a chance to rest, and there might be others who have family members they want to see. But I think there is an opportunity there for guys to see as much or as little as they want when we’re away.

For us, this trip can be provide an opportunity for a good bonding experience. When you’re at home, a lot of guys have families here and they’re usually with them when they’re away from the rink. But when you’re on the road for a long time, you’re eating dinner together all the time and you learn little tidbits and things about people that you didn’t know before. And I think that helps you get to know a person a little bit better and if you feel more comfortable with a person off the ice, it can help you on the ice.

We’ve lost a few close games lately, but we try to look at it in a positive way. We’re playing the right way, but there’s just some bad mistakes that we need to correct. That’s kind of a cliche answer, but that in a nutshell is what’s been happening. Thursday night against the Rangers, we had too many turnovers and it came back to bite us. It’s just little things like that. An old coach of mine used to say ‘if you can make less mistakes than the other team, you’ll probably end up winning the game.’ So maybe we should take that mentality.

All these one-goal games we’ve been playing certainly helps keep you on your toes. You’ve got to make sure you have a sharp mind, and that’s good experience for us, especially with a young team. In those tight moments in the third period, whether you’re tied, you’re up by a goal or down by a goal, you’ve got make sure you’re making the right decisions. These are all experiences you have to go through if you want to learn how to win as a team.