Oh how the mighty can fall. Or how bad a team can fall according to Kevin. They were back on the shit list with the fans and Brian was again having his regular anxiety attacks. The next game was a tie to the Dallas Stars, which shouldn’t have happened. But the worst by far was the loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Kevin didn’t even like to think about the score now. It had been bad losing to the Sabers last year and now they had it from the frickin Canucks. Out of all teams in the world they lost badly to the Canucks. Kevin never thought he would have another game where he was mad at his team as a whole for loosing a game…until this one.
Ranting and racing at the guys was usually a job for Barber or Clarke, but this time he got to the team first. Ranting like a mad man he went into the locker room, threw his helmet into his locker and screamed at the guys. Once he finally calmed himself down he saw that all or most of the guys were staring at the floor or avoiding looking at him, all except for AJ. AJ who was staring straight at him with an emotionless face and cold stare with his arms crossed over his chest.
Neil Little was sitting on a chair staring up at Kevin and then looking over at Brian who was hanging his head. Kevin was sick and tired of it now and by it he meant everything. Here he was in one of his last NHL seasons probably and they were playing horribly. He was not up for losing anymore and he was not going to cut Brian any more slack because he was family. If it was Boosh he would be telling him what to improve on by now, but of course it wasn’t Boosh.
Kevin only looked around the locker room a second time and stormed over to his locker pulling off his gear and changing into his normal clothing. As soon as he was done getting changed he pulled his bag over his shoulder and stormed out of the locker room slamming the door behind himself.
Practice was not going to be a good one the next day.
“This is a puck,” Barber says holding up a puck the next day at practice walking back and forth in front of the team, “Of course you didn’t use that during the last game did you? So I figured what’s the point of making you practice with something that you NEVER touched in the last game that’s why we’re not going to be using any pucks during this practice…”
“Oh Jesus,” AJ mutters, “Here we go.”
“This means there will be a full ninety or more minutes of skating maybe it will help you get your priorities straight,” Barber says, “I want all of you to get to the end of the ice and line up. Get ready for suicides.”
And that’s how it all started. A full practice of nothing but skating back and forth over the ice. It may not seem long to some people and those people have probably never had to experience it. For the bigger guys like Todd Fedoruk they weren’t built to skate that much. Yes they could skate, but they were on the team as enforcers not speed skaters like Gagne and AJ.
“What the hell is this supposed to teach us?” AJ pants in between breaths about an hour through the practice.
“Not to lose,” Nick says trying to catch his breath.
“Poor Todd looks like he’s about to pass out,” AJ says nodding over at Todd who was bent over putting his weight onto his knees trying to catch his breath.
“This has to be some kind of inhuman torture,” Nick says.
“There has to be some kind of law,” AJ adds, “I hope he chokes on the damned whistle,” AJ says looking up as Barber blows his whistle signaling for them to take another lap.
“You ok?” Nick asks looking over at Williams as he skates next to him for the lap.
Williams nods.
“You look really pale man,” Nick says, “Didn’t you get over the flu a few days ago?”
Williams nods again.
“You sure you shouldn’t ask for a break?”
“And be crucified by Barber? Hell no. Is AJ ok?”
“Yeah I guess why?”
“He’s been sick lately. I dunno he may have caught my flu. Some of the others caught some of it.”
“That’s what happens when you don’t listen to your doctor,” Nick says, “He told you to sit out.”
“What do doctors know?”
“Jesus what happened now?” Nick says looking up at a crowd gathers in the corner of the rink and Barber walks over to it.
“I have no idea,” Williams says skating over with Nick.
Nick looks over as Kevin skates out from the crowd and takes off down the ice and then walking off the ice into the locker room. Williams tries to look over everyone in the crowd to no avail. Nick and Justin were both six feet or taller by an inch or so, but on this team almost everyone was six feet or taller and trying to look over everyone never seemed to work.
“Would you back the fuck up!” Todd Fedoruk yells to everyone who slowly start to spread the circle out wider.
Nick stares as the center of the circle grows wider and Marty Murray is kneeling on the ice with Fedetenko and LeCalire around AJ who is laying on the ice flat on his back gasping for breath and grabbing at the ice with his bare hands searching for something to grab on to.
“The paramedics are coming,” Kevin says skating back up and pushing through the crowd over to AJ, “Has this ever happened before?” he asks looking up at Fedoruk who had known AJ the longest, “Anything like it?”
Todd shakes his head no still staring down at AJ.
“AJ. AJ!” Kevin yells at him and grabbing onto one of his hands, “Just hold on man the paramedics are coming ok? Just hold on,” he says again more to himself this time looking up at Barber, “Someone go call his mom. She’s still down here right?” he says looking at Bruno who nods, “Bruno go call her.”
“Ok,” Bruno says and then skates off the ice quickly.
Nick stares down at AJ with wide eyes as his eyes roll up into the back of his head slowly.
“Where the hell is the ambulance?” Roenick yells looking around the stadium.
Nick looks from Roenick back to Kevin and saw the thing that scared him most…Kevin looked frightened as all hell.
Nick plays with a string on the end of his sweatshirt twirling it around his fingers sitting in the waiting room of the hospital. He felt he at least owed it to AJ who had sat in the waiting room for hours waiting to hear how he was when he got hurt. Kevin was sitting in a chair across the room flipping through the Sports Illustrated that had AJ on the cover. Williams and Bruno were sitting on the floor playing what looked like go fish with Fedoruk, Boosh, Murray and Brian Littrell.
Williams had been right, AJ was sick very sick. He had been playing for what the doctors guessed as a week with the flu and all of the skating in practice topped it all off. All he needed now was good old-fashioned rest and some medicine. He was going to be out for at least a week, which meant he was going to be able to come back just in time for the game against the Bruins or the game against the Lightening.
“Go fish,” Murray says as Brian takes a card from the small pile.
“Baby baby baby it happens all the time. How you play me play me play me playing with my mind. Baby baby baby you’re making me go crazy. If you call that love, love should be a crime,” Justin sings loudly as Kevin looks over his magazine at him, “You and me suddenly we got nothin to say, but word get in the way. Baby baby baby it happens all the time. How you play me play me play me playing with my mind. Baby baby baby you’re making me go crazy. And if you call that love, and all it was was a pocket full of nothin, but a suicidal love…”
“Justin please stop,” Kevin says.
“Then love should be a crimeeeee,” Justin says ignoring him.
“You are an odd odd child,” Boosh says to him taking a card from the pile.
“Why?” Justin asks.
“That’s a boy band song isn’t it?” Marty asks.
“So what if it is?”
“They should all be…” Fedoruk starts to say.
“Hey don’t deny the world of cheesy pop music,” Justin says.
Nick shakes his head and laughs, “NSYNC?”
“Urrr,” Justin makes a sound like a buzzer, “Any other guesses?”
“That band from Britain,” Boosh says.
“Urrrr,” Justin says again.
“O-Town,” Kevin says from behind his magazine.
“Damn,” Justin mutters to himself.
“You know entirely too much about boy bands Kevin,” Nick says.
“You have a young daughter then,” Kevin says, “All I hear is that.”
“Why the hell are you singing O-Town?” Boosh asks.
Justin shrugs, “We had off and there was an o-town marathon on TV. What else is there to watch when all your little cousins are running around? Stupid children.”
Nick shakes his head.
“Baby baby baby it happens all the time. How you play me play me play me playing with my mind. Baby baby baby you’re making me go crazy. And if you call that love, and all it was was a pocket full of nothin, but a suicidal love and you call that love…” Justin starts singing again.
“Please stop that,” AJ says walking in with his mom, “It’s not like my head hurts enough as it is.”
“Then love should be a cri…OW,” Justin yells as Fedoruk smacks him in the back of the head.
“Thank you Todd,” AJ says, “Yeah and thanks a lot for the flu Willy.”
“Sorry, hey I told you I was contagious,” Williams says, “Besides you should have gotten a flu shot.”
AJ stares at him, “You are so lucky I feel like shit right now or else I’d punch you…hard very very hard.”
“We suck!” AJ yells from the bench to anyone who is listening to him.
Yeah AJ was back to normal pretty much by Nick’s standards. He had made an early return to the team so he could play the Boston Bruins that night and well to say the least he wasn’t the only one unhappy. You know its bad when you start to get booed in your own house, which was happening to them in this period, the beginning of the second. Nick wasn’t sure if they were booing the team as a whole for letting all the shots get on goal or Brian for jumping on the puck. He was more pointed to the fact they were booing the whole team.
It was 2-0 in the Bruins favor and the Flyers were being out down everywhere on the ice. The Bruins were fast that was the fact. They could fly on the ice. Another factor was that their power play was still horrible, 27th in the league. The first goal sailed by Brian and the second was a short-handed goal by Guerin. Nick had the sinking filling they were going to lose again.
“They really don’t like Justin do they?” Bruno says next to him.
“Huh?” Nick says looking at him.
Bruno points to the ice where Williams slams into the boards sliding along the ice and hitting a Bruin in the leg. As he tries to get up though he is grabbed by the shoulders and head and is slammed back onto the ice.
“I guess not,” Nick says as the Flyers start back on defense again.
A quick shot on Brian is fired as Williams is tackled to the ice behind the play and slammed down by a Bruin again.
“Yeah they really don’t like him do they?” Nick says
“Uh oh,” Bruno says as AJ and a few of the other players on the ice decide to make it known that they were not going to stand a player of theirs being treated like that.
“You have got to be kidding me,” AJ yells skating back to the bench as Williams is sent to the box, “Roughing on the guy who was slammed into the ice PLEASE!”
“AJ sit down,” Barber says as AJ sits down staring at the official.
Nick stares at the ice as they return to full strength and Gagne heads down the ice with the puck back passing it to Williams who seems to back pass it to Murray. Murray lets off a quick shot and it goes through the five hole, 2-1. Nick stares at the ice as Williams continues to go on and off again only having short breaks skating around like a madman and taking shot after shot. Of course they didn’t go in though. The life was back in the club at the end of the second.
Nick takes to the ice with eight minutes left in the third with Primeau and LeCalire as they take off on an offensive charge. Shot after shot is fired at the Boston goaltender. The puck cycles form LeClaire, to Primeau, to Nick, to Primeau to LeClaire and back to Nick again. Nick wraps around the net and lets off a quick shot at the net. The equalizer, Nick scored the tying goal and the game was 2-2 now. There is a huge roar that goes through the stadium as Nick lifts up his arms in triumph and his teammates come over to congratulate him. And so ended his scoreless streak.
Overtime.
Shot after shot after shot hit both goalies with amazing saves on both ends of the ice. About three minutes into the overtime a quick shot is taken on Brian and it bounces into the air as he goes to catch the rebound. He misses it and to bounces to the ice as a Bruin finds it and winds around the net with it. 3-2 in favor of the Bruins in overtime. The losing streak continues.
“Why do we suck so bad?” AJ mutters to himself as he slams his stick into his locker in the locker room.
Nick stares up at him and then over at Brian. Brian had his face in his hands sitting on the locker room floor sobbing quietly to himself. He should have caught the puck and everyone knew it including him. It was an easy save. Nick was glad that is scoreless streak ended, but the teams winless streak continued through their third game. Hopefully on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightening they would get the points needed.
Nick looks back over at AJ as AJ stuffs his gear roughly back into his bag muttering to himself. Justin was standing up in front of his locker wincing at something as he pulls his shirt up to reveal a large black and blue bruise on his hip.
“When the hell is Boosh getting back,” AJ mutters.
Nick looks at him and shakes his head, “Calm down AJ.”
“Calm down. Calm down. What the hell happened to us?” he snaps throwing his bag over his shoulder, “We got a week tops before he comes back how many games is that?”
“I’m not sure three.”
“Three…three losses…that’s six points gone…three ties that’s three points…” AJ continues to mutter to himself adding up points depending on how many losses or ties in his head.
“Jesus AJ,” Nick mutters at him walking over to Brian and putting a hand on his shoulder, “You ok Bri?”
“Get off me,” Brian says, “Just don’t touch me.”
“Ok,” Nick says quietly backing away from him and walking back over to his locker.
Kevin looks up at him and shakes his head sighing to himself. Nick shrugs his shoulders back at him.
“The beginning of the end,” Kevin says quietly.
Nick stares at him and then back around the room at the guys. Was it the beginning of the end?
