The Road to the Cup ~ Wattys 2015

Ding Ding Round Two

It was a week before all the other teams finished their rounds; most of them went to six or seven games. During that time, we practiced and watched the other games on TV so that we could keep up with any developments that occurred with teams we might be facing. In the Western Conference, the Hawks had eliminated the Canucks in six, the Kings had defeated the Sharks in six, the Stars had taken out the Jets in seven, and the Predators had beaten the Wild in five. In our conference, Detroit had won against Montreal in seven, the Senators had defeated the Lightning in five, and the Capitals had beaten the Blue Jackets in six. We would face the Capitals in the second round, and that was guaranteed to be a more difficult battle than the one before.

I was skating suicides with the guys when Johnston came into the bench area. We had the advantage of home ice in the second round and were determined to put it to good use. "Malkin!" Johnston yelled and Geno broke from our ranks and met Johnston by the boards. They had a conversation there for a few moments, at that point the rest of us had finished skating and were taking a break.

Geno joined us, an excited grin on his face, "I clear! I am score again!"

"Really?" I asked; this couldn't have come at a better time.

"You think I joke about something like this?" Geno demanded, offended.

"No, no, no! I was just excited and surprised. I'm glad to have you back, Evgeni."

"We're all glad. I'm sick of picking up your slack," Sutter teased.

"I pick up you slack now, buddy," Geno replied.

"Hey, does this mean we get to run the Two-Headed Monster line against Ovechkin?" Beau asked excitedly.

"That's definitely an option. I just want to make sure that we have enough depth through all of our lines, otherwise we won't score," Johnston said.

"Win together, lose together," I added.

"Hope no lose," Geno nodded.

"There's only one way to find out, we have to play our game," Sidney said.

After morning skate, Johnston called me into his office and we played around with the lines for a few minutes. Both of us were interested in a line with Crosby and Malkin, but we couldn't agree on who to put with them.

"I think we should let another forward step up and prove himself and then we can play the Two-Headed Monster card," I suggested, frustrated with our arguing.

"But we've narrowed it down to Sutter, Hornqvist and Perron. Why stop now?"

"Because we need to eat and get ready for the game. And I'd also like to clear out before Alexander Ovechkin gets here for their morning skate," I explained.

"Not a fan?" Mike asked, even though he knew what had happened the first time I'd met Alex Ovechkin.

"Not really, though I can't ignore the fact that he's extremely talented," I shook my head.

"Which is why we have to figure out this line!"

"You said it yourself, Mike. We need depth. That's our top priority right now and we need to make sure we have that. One killer line won't help us if the other lines can't score. You know as well as I do that Ovchkin's line isn't the only one scoring for the Capitals."

"Alright, fine," he sighed, "We'll start them separately. But I want them together for the power play."

"Yep, definitely want them together on special teams," I replied, "See you tonight, Mike."

"Bye, Erin."

I stepped out into the hall and straight into a wall of human. "Oof."

"Hello, pretty bird," Ovechkin purred, "The last time we met you gave me a concussion, and now you run into me, I think you just like touching me."