The Hockey Life - A Patrick Kane Fanfic

Part Seventy-One - Elimination

PART SEVENTY-ONE: ELIMINATION

After Patrick and I had kissed and made up (quite literally), things got better again. Still busy as hell, but better. Playoffs continued, and the Hawks moved on to the second round of the series, during which they needed to beat the Minnesota Wild. In the middle of all that, Patrick stepped up with the wedding planning. We did a cake tasting together, and we agreed on red velvet. We found time to get a tux picked out for him and he reserved hotel rooms for guests that would be traveling to get to the wedding. We were right on schedule with almost everything, so I felt a lot better about it. I was finally able to just focus on my job for a little bit, and it was the same for Patrick.

It only took six games out of the possible seven for the Hawks to tame the Wild. I knew they could do it, so it honestly wasn’t surprising. It was exciting though - playoff hockey always was. We had to wait impatiently to find out who Pat and his team would be facing next. It was between the Anaheim Ducks and the L.A. Kings, we just had to wait for the series to end to find out who. In the end, the Kings won, and I honestly was happy about that. We had defeated the Kings in the Western Conference final a year before, so I really felt like we could do it again.

Game one was a blast. It was at the United Center, so of course it was a lot of fun. Even though I now worked at every game and I couldn’t just sit back and watch with the rest of the fans, I still enjoyed it all. I got to go to every game and be right there with the team, so I couldn’t complain, especially when it came to the playoffs. Every round I swear things got crazier, louder, rowdier, and more intense. The Western Conference was the most insane round yet. However, it was only game one.

Game two was a different story. Things were going great until the Hawks couldn’t manage to score any more and the Kings couldn’t manage to stop scoring. The final score was 6-2 at the United Center, and a lot of fans left early, unable to watch the Kings beat us by any more than they already had. It was a disappointing game, but I encouraged everyone on the team. The series was tied 1-1. It was early, and we still had a lot of time. We could grab the lead on the road, no problem. Or so I thought.

Game three and four were away games, and this time the Hawks couldn’t find a way to beat the Kings. We weren’t doing so good, and the whole team was frustrated. The series was 1-3 Kings at that point, and every player knew they needed to step it up. The Kings needed only one more win to advance and kick us out of the race for the Cup. We needed two more wins in a row to even have a chance to dethrone them. Fortunately for us, we were back at home for game five. Home ice was always an advantage. It gave the Hawks a huge chance to win, and they didn’t want to let that chance slip through their fingertips.

They didn’t let it get away. They won 5-4, and the United Center truly lived up to its nickname of the Madhouse on Madison. We headed back to the Staples Center for game six, but the fact that it was an away game just made the Hawks more serious. They got another win, 4-3 this time, and I was so psyched for game seven. The series was feeling like the Stanley Cup Final, and I took it that seriously. So did the Blackhawks. They got really pumped up for the final home game of the series, and it was clear that the fans were equally ready.

The game was intense and close pretty much the whole time, it really was. I was on the edge of my seat towards the end, and it went to overtime, of course. Heart attack hockey was the way the Western Conference Final had to end. Each team had a million chances and I almost thought the puck went in both nets about a thousand times. And then Martinez of the Kings took a shot. I could practically feel my heart breaking inside my body as I watched the puck go in the back of the net. The Hawks had lost the series. They could have advanced to the Final and won the Cup two years in a row, but they didn’t make it that far.