'ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN'

SEATTLE - Tyler Toffoli has scored 192 goals in 640 regular-season NHL games.
He's chipped in another 16 in 76 post-season skates.
But that doesn't mean that every tally isn't still exciting - and exhilarating.

As coaches and pundits will often remind us, scoring is the hardest thing to do in the NHL, and every time Toffoli lights the lamp he makes sure to enjoy each and every one.
"Yeah, I mean, it's not an easy thing to do," he said. "So whenever it happens, you just try to have as much fun as you can and enjoy the moment."
Fun.
Something we forget is just as important to the pros as it is to the Timbits taking their first cautious steps on the ice. Having fun is essential to success, even for the game's best.
"Definitely," agreed Toffoli. "Seasons are long. I've been in the league for a long time now. So you gotta try and enjoy it as much as you can."
And everything is certainly more fun when you're winning.
The veteran forward has certainly had a lot of fun since leaving the struggling Habs in a trade on Feb. 14 and coming to a Flames team that continues to fight for a Pacific Division crown and with their longterm sights on a Stanley Cup run.
Since arriving in Calgary, Toffoli has scored 10 times, the most recent a lovely backhand strike against the Ducks Wednesday in a 4-2 victory, the second win of an eventual California sweep with victories also against the Kings and Sharks.

Toffoli is one goal shy of 20 on the season, which will be the sixth time in his career he's hit that mark. His 26 assists this season are just one shy of a career-high 27 set during the 2015-16 season as a member of the Kings. The 29-year- old also needs just three more assists for 200 in his career.
He could achieve one or all of those marks when his team finishes out this four-game roadie against the expansion Kraken Saturday night in Seattle.
Toffoli's knack for the net is well known, but his playmaking abilities are somewhat underrated. His career numbers bear that out, with 197 assists in the regular season and 23 in the playoffs.
"I think I just try and do whatever I can offensively and I've always been known to be able to find the open area in the ice," said Toffoli. "So whenever I get those opportunities, I'm definitely a shoot first guy, but obviously being able to make plays, you need that as well to be successful."
While he's moved around the lineup since coming to Calgary as coach Darryl Sutter looks for the optimal combos in different situations versus different teams, Toffoli has spent the biggest chunk of time skating with Mikael Backlund as his centre, another guy who can score, pass and play a complete game at both ends of the ice.
"It's been fun," said Backlund, using that word again when talking about skating beside Toffoli and fellow linemate Andrew Mangiapane. "I think we haven't played our best yet as a line, we can play a lot better, but (Toffoli's) a really good, really smart player. He knows how to score goals - that's his strength. He can score from everywhere."
Adding the firepower and hockey IQ of a guy such as Toffoli will not only pay dividends now in this regular-season push, said Backlund, but also come the postseason where his experience and nose for the net can hopefully help power a lengthy postseason run.
"He definitely knows how to put the puck in the net," said Backlund. "Those guys are key in the playoffs, to have those kind of players that find a way to the net. But he's also really good at playing a 200-foot game, being responsible player out there, making those little plays. Like I said, it's been fun but we can play a lot better."

Playing with Backlund - one of the best two-way centres in the league - has also helped Toffoli continue to round out and improve his game.
"I've always thought it was hard to play against him," said Toffoli. "And he definitely took care of the D zone first and all those things, but being able to play with him, he makes a lot of little plays, and really good plays as well.
"I mean, I've definitely played with some really good defensive players. And he does a great job of just being in the right spot. And just having to get stuck all over the ice and creating turnovers that obviously creates more offence."
Sutter - who coached Toffoli in LA when the Kings won the Cup in 2014 - said the key to his success is simple:
"He plays the right away 99.9% of the time, that's why he's a champion," said Sutter. "He has a really good hockey IQ, he knows the game, he recognizes situations, time to score, what's going on the ice, things like that. It's invaluable to have a player like that."