Armstrong's long day

Tuesday was quite a day for Derek Armstrong. He was presumed to be a healthy scratch for the game against Dallas, so he participated in the morning skate as normal, then had roughly 90 minutes of conditioning skating, a normal exercise for players who aren't in the game lineup. That's a lot of skating for anyone, not just for a 35-year-old guy such as Armstrong. A couple hours later, he found out that he was going in the lineup, to replace ill forward Oscar Moller. Armstrong tells the story of his day...

ARMSTRONG: ``It's just your mind, more than anything, getting prepared. I left here (the practice facility) at 1:30 and went for lunch. I was with my buddy. We went for lunch and then we went to a farmers market, to get my wife some flowers and stuff. As we were walking in the farmers market, I was like, `I've got to go home, my legs are exhausted.' Honest to God, my legs were exhausted at the farmers market. So I got home around 3:30 and turned on `Around the Horn' and turned my phone off. They had to call my buddy to get to me. They called him and he had to come down and tell me, `You're going to play.' I just wish I could have got a nap. Just another story in your career, you know? ... It was kind of a tough day, but you get through it. Days like that, you just try to be as professional as you can and throw your body around and try to make an impact and do what you can do to help your team win. It was an important game.''