Sunshine

Several glasses clinked together as the Kings celebrated a 3-2 win over the Stars in Dallas. Mike was particularly elated after scoring the game winning goal while shorthanded late in regulation. He’d had a slow start in their first game of road trip in San Jose, and by the third period the Kings were tired and disorganized. They suffered a 4-1 loss. The team regrouped and two nights later in Phoenix, they lost again, 1-0. There was an improved defensive effort, but the Kings’ offense still struggled to produce goals.

The final game of the road trip was in Dallas. Dustin Brown set the tone early with a gritty goal only three minutes into the first period. For the remainder of the game the two teams battled it out, neither particularly controlling the pace nor gaining momentum for long. With just over a minute left in the last period the Kings’ took a foolish Too Many Men on the Ice penalty during a sloppy line change. Every single player on the bench and on the ice knew that they were going to pay at their next practice for such a mistake, but they were primarily worried about the Stars punishing them with a game winning goal. They couldn’t return from this trip 0-3.

Mike was put out on the penalty kill. The Kings managed to stifle the Stars’ attempts for the first minute but were having trouble clearing the zone. Mike was playing his corner of the box when the defenseman, Sergei Gonchar, hesitated with the puck. He took the opportunity to poke check it between Gonchar’s legs. He was able to quickly dip around his opponent, where he planned to simply clear the puck, but something told him to take a chance. Mike felt his stick make contact with the puck, and he was off. Darting quickly up the ice, the Kings developed a two-on-one. Jeff was floating off to the left where he’d drawn the only Star in play to him.

Once the defender had made his choice Mike knew it was up to him to beat Lehtonen for a goal. As he drew closer to the net, he positioned himself for a slap shot ready to wail it in, but at the last second decided to flick the puck up into the corner over Lehtonen’s shoulder.

As the goal horn sounded, the four Kings on the ice piled on top of Mike, all smiling and cheering like boys. They had scored on the penalty kill with only 22 seconds left of regulation time, and as long as they could hold off Dallas for the next 22 seconds, the game was won.
Now a small group of the team was out celebrating. They weren’t returning to LA until the next morning and wouldn’t have practice again until the following morning. The trip hadn’t been successful overall, but they were ending it on a good note, and Mike’s head was swollen with pride.

He sat talking for a while with some of the guys until Jeff Carter appeared back at the table. “So there’s this chick back there, and I’m totally calling dibs, but her friend is hot, and I could use a wingman,” Jeff said, taking a long gulp of the beer in his hand. Normally Mike would have been all over this type of thing, especially since Cartsy had done all the leg work, but his mind wandered back to the snarky redhead from the waiting room.

It must have been all over Mike’s face because Jeff let out an exasperated puff of air before Mike even answered. “Is this about that girl? Because I don’t see any reason why you can’t get with this chick tonight and then just call her when you get back, man.” Mike glanced down at his phone, checking whether it was late enough to justify going back to the hotel. “Come on, Richie. I don’t think she’s gonna just ditch her friend, so I told them I’d come get you and-” Jeff stopped when he realized Mike just wasn’t up for it tonight. He rolled his eyes. “Alright, I’ll get someone else.”

As his best friend walked away, Mike turned his attention back to his phone. He honestly had no clue why he wasn’t into a conquest tonight; he hadn’t even sent Melanie a text. He didn’t even know the girl, and she only agreed to a date with him based on the one superficial thing he didn’t want girls to. Sure, he’d use his status as a professional athlete to bed girls on a regular basis, but not to actually take them out to dinner and then go home alone like a gentleman.

He clicked through the contents on his phone. He’d already turned down an easy thing tonight, so he might as well just text Melanie. At least he could brag; he’d won the deal and done it in style.

So…about that date? Hope that goal was acceptable. He sent the message, finished off his drink, and headed back to his hotel room. It would be his first early night on the road in a while.