Chances Risked

“And after eight months and over thirteen hundred games, it’s time to hand out the hardware,” the announcer said, “Who is the NHL’s best defensemen? Goalie? Coach? Most valuable player? They played their hearts out and tonight, we celebrate the games’ greatest players in the 2012 NHL Awards! Live from the Wynn, Las Vegas- Now, let me present roadrunner artist, Nickelback.”

I looked around, the players, owners, coaches, and dates sat on the bottom level, while the public, fans, sat on the upper levels and in the way back or on the upper sides. The band performer, and I looked around me to see some of the guys singing the lyrics, bopping their heads, recording the performance, I giggled and then looked towards Nick to see him smirking.

“You listen to them?” I heard and looked to see Geno sitting next to me, he needed to lean in close and talk loud over the music.

“Sometimes,” I said and he nodded his head and I smiled and patted his knee, “I’m glad you sat next to me,” I said and he chuckled, we looked to the other side of Geno to see Sidney talking to his date Kasey, “I’m definitely happy that he brought her.”

“Sid really happy with her,” he said and I nodded my head. Nickelback ended and then walked off the stage and the announcer came back.

“…Special guests include; Mathew Perry, Adam Pally, from NBC sports; Eddie Olcyzk, Pierre McGuire. Cory Monteith, Erin Andrews, Joshua Jackson, Michael Vartan, from CBC sports, Andi Petrillo and PJ Stock. Kevin Connolly, Eric Stonestreet, Colin Hanks, from the NHL Network; Kathryn Tappen and Barry Melrose. Cheryl Burke, Ray Liotta and Vince Vaughn. Plus, special appearances by; Will Arnett, Kevin Smith and Tracy Morgan. Plus, another performance by Nickelback! To kick off the NHL Awards, please welcome the star of the NBC series ‘Go On’ and LA Kings fan; Mathew Perry!”

I looked towards Sidney and tapped his arm, “And once upon a time, best Friends actor,” I smiled and Sidney chuckled, I knew that F-R-I-E-N-D-S was like his all time favorite show.

“Hello, I am Mathew Perry and I am thrilled to be here for the 2012 NHL Awards, yes,” he chuckled and waited, people were cheering and applauding like crazy, I laughed and clapped, I did like him as an actor and person, even for a Kings fan.

“You know, he’s probably only up there because the Kings won the cup,” I heard Pat whisper into my ear from behind me.

I turned my head and saw him bent down, “You’re probably right.”

“Before we get started, I just wanted to point out to Jonathan Quick and his family that this show will be on a seven second delay,” Perry made a joke, I don’t think a lot of people understood it, “I am not your host this evening, I’m just here to present the first award, they didn’t want me to host,” I heard a bunch of guys around me snicker, “Because, it’s not 1995,” I think we all snickered at that, “So here’s a few things that were happening from 1995…” and he went on and on and on and I leaned my head back and sighed, I giggled when I felt a finger tap my forehead and looked back to see Jon and Pat smirking towards me.

“Bunch of children,” I smirked and Pat rolled his eyes.

Mathew Perry made a few jokes, some of them were funny, “…I am here to present the Norris Trophy for best defensemen,” I looked towards Nick, feeling him tense next to me and I gave him a confused look, “Before we get to the nominees, I would just like to take the time, to acknowledge the best defensemen ever who retired this year after winning this,” people cheered loudly, “After winning this award seven times, Nicklas Lindstrom,” I smiled and clapped for my 2011 All Star Captain, “Here are you nominees.”

We all turned to the screens where the names were going to be announced, “Zdeno Chara,” they played a little clip and gave a small background on him, “Erik Karlsson,” they played a little clip, “Mike Marshall,” I sucked in a breath at the hearing of his name and felt hands from all different players rubbing or patting my shoulder and back. I felt Pat’s hand on my back and I placed my hand on top of his, not looking back at him.

“All right, and the winner is,” Mathew Perry opened the puck he was holding, “Mike Marshall,” my eyes widened and I heard people start to clap, Mike’s accomplishments were being shown on the screens, “Here to accept the award for Mike Marshall is his younger brother, Nick Marshall.”
I looked towards Nick and he smiled towards me, “You knew?”

“That’s what Mario wanted to talk to me about,” he said and I smiled and Nick stood up and walked towards the stage. People were clapping, most, like my team and I, were standing, it might not have been for Nick, but we were standing for Mike, hoping that he was watching. I felt Geno’s arm around me and give me a side hug and I tried to control the watering of my eyes, I didn’t want to ruin my makeup. Nick accepted the award, shook Perry’s hand and walked over towards the mic, I giggled at how nervous he looked. We all calmed down and took our seats, “Uh,” Nick took a deep breath, “I know I’m not my brother, I don’t know really what to say other than I hope Mike’s happy, he would probably do some sappy speech like thank his family and all that bull,” Nick smirked and got a lot of laughs, “If you knew my brother, you knew that he loved the sport of hockey and whether or not he won this trophy, he’d play his heart out. He loved playing by his twin’s side, probably too afraid to play against her,” I giggled, “He loved to play his opponents, to make his friends, family and more importantly, his fans proud. And I guess just- uh, just, thank you for seeing his talent and congrats Mike,” we were all standing and clapping as Nick was lead off the stage and towards the backstage with Mathew Perry.

“Please welcome from the ABC comedy ‘Happy Endings’, Adam Polly.”

“I’m so excited to be here to present the biggest award of the evening, the Hart Memorial Trophy, for the most valuable player in the NHL- I mean, this is, the noble prize of hockey and I’m so honored to be able to present it with so many huge stars here tonight like Vince Vaughn and Mathew Perry, and they chose me to present this award at the beginning of the show-“ a staff where a head set walked up to him, we all stared at him confused, well I don’t know about ‘all’, but I sure as hell was, they usually present the Hart at the end., “This is unprofessional already.”

“Is he trying to be funny?” I asked Sidney and he shrugged his shoulders.

“So now- Ok,” the headset man walked away and we all looked towards Polly, “Forget what I just said! I am not presenting the MVP Award.”

“I confused,” Geno said and I giggled and nodded my head.

“I feel embarrassed that I made a big deal about presenting the MVP Award, and I’m not presenting the MVP- What am I presenting?” Polly asked and some of us snickered, really not knowing if this was just a skit or he really didn’t know. The headset man walked up to him, “Ok,” he said sadly, “So I’m presenting a highlights package,” he said and some laughed, “It’s not even- I’m barely presenting anything- I’m gunna tell you guys to watch something. They could have just done that- I came all the way here, do I at least get some kind of- All right well, let’s just throw on the video because the truth is I’m wasted drunk.”

I laughed and shook my head and turned back towards Pat to see him and some of his teammates cracking up. The video came on, a Coors Light Year Preview with ‘Can’t Hold US’ by Macklemore playing in the video’s background. They played the highlights, there was something on every team, a lot of players, they showed games, Winter Classics, shootouts. They showed the clip when Pat won the shootout against the Jets and he skated really slow and tricked the goalie, scoring the goal. They showed the clip from when the Penguins were playing the Bruins and I got into a fight with Tyler Seguin, a lot of people laughed at that and I felt a lot of playful shoves when in the clip the refs were holding each Tyler and I and we were bad mouthing each other. Hits and checks, saves, exciting goals, I smiled as we looked back to everything we accomplished.

Adam Polly introduced Will Arnett who was on the screen getting ready to show a funny bit that some actors liked to do, sort of as a parody to a team. Arnett was doing a parody of Brendan Shanahan, Senior VP, Player Safety and Hockey Operations. I was laughing when they were poking fun at Dustin Brown when he was on the bench during a game against the Wilds; he picked up his water bottle and tried to drink out of the wrong end of it.

I guess they needed to take a commercial break because they announced that the NHL Awards would be right back and in the mean time we were going to watch bloopers or clips from interviews. Nick finally came back and he was smiling brightly, some of the guys around us were patting his shoulder. He told me that he took so long because he got to meet a lot of stars and he was thanking me for bringing him.

We were all laughing at the bloopers, the funniest moments in the 2011-2012 NHL season, and the interviews were what we were asked before coming into the awards. I groaned when I saw my face appear on the screen, “Who is my favorite teammate? No! No, don’t make me answer that,” I laughed and covered my face, “I don’t have a favorite,” I said but they were pushing me, “All right, all right, all right, ugh, I’m probably never going to live this down,” I smirked and shook my head, “I guess my favorite teammate is Staalsy.”

“You’re my favorite too, Maggie!” I heard Jordan yell from down the row and I laughed and shook my head.

“Thanks Jordan!” I yelled and then looked towards Geno to see him pouting, “Ugh, this is why I didn’t want to answer the question!”

“It ok, I still love you,” he said and I laughed and he hugged me.

Another funny clip appeared and it was with Kevin Smith, he was saying why he loved hockey and moments that were the best. One moment was when Patrick Kane put on a Superman cape and glasses and skates towards the St. Louis goalie during a shootout and does a face plant on the ice and somehow manages to make the puck go into the net.

Henrik Lundqvist came onto the stage to introduce another funny clip, this one where Tracy Morgan was posing as a Rangers teammate. It was pretty funny and I looked towards Nick to see him laughing pretty hard, I was happy that he was having a good time.

“From the NBC Sports network, please welcome Eddie Olcyzk and Pierre McGuire.”

Pierre made a little joke about the Tracey Morgan video and I smirked, “The Hart Trophy for the NHL is the most oldest and prestige’s award for the best in hockey. It was first awarded in the 1923-24 season,” Pierre and Eddie made a few more jokes and then said that they were announcing the first nominee for the Hart Trophy. Henrik Lundqvist was the only one they announced and they said they would announce the other three later.

Another commercial break was happening and they decided to play the top five saves that fans voted for on Facebook while we waited. Then the star of Glee and an apparent Canucks fan, Cory Monteith, appeared on the stage to announce the Ted Lindsay Award.

“From the New York Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist, From the Pittsburgh Penguins, Evgeni Malkin,” I smiled towards Geno and patted his leg, “Also from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Maggie Marshall,” my eyes widened and Geno smiled towards me, “And from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos. And here to present the award, is a legendary forward who not only scored eight hundred points and won four Stanley Cups, but also has an award named after him, please welcome the man himself, Ted Lindsay.”

“Good evening,” he was an old man now, “The winner of the award is Evgeni Malkin,” I smiled and looked towards Geno; he hugged me and then stood up and walked towards the stage.

I smiled brightly as I watched Geno on the stage, Sidney smiled towards me and congratulated me for being nominated, so did some of the others, but I was happy that Geno won it. Geno struggled with his English, we all knew he did and he would, but we were happy for the big guy for winning the award. He finished his speech, congratulating Steven, Henrik and I for being nominated.

“He’s really nice,” Nick said and I smiled and nodded my head.

“He’s a big teddy bear,” I said and then watched as Geno walked off to the backstage and Monteith stayed on, ‘…Good for you G…’

“The Detroit Red Wings are known in hockey as the original six teams, so it’s only fitting that the award is named after the longest sign Coach in their history, Jack Adams,” Cory Monteith said and I turned back towards Jon and Pat.

“Remember out talk in Carolina in 2011?” I asked and Jon smirked and nodded his head while Pat was confused.

“You were wasted, don’t even try,” Jon said to Pat and I giggled.

“We all know it’s not gunna be Tortorella,” I said and Jon snickered and nodded his head and then went to explaining to Pat what we were talking about.

“Here are your nominees for the Jack Adams Award,” Monteith announced.

“Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis Blues…Paul McLean, Ottawa Senators… John Tortorella, New York Rangers-“

“Get the fuck out!” I muttered and then turned back towards Jon wide eyes.

“They must have been drunk,” Jon said and I snickered, “No way in hell is he the best Coach.”

“And the winner of the 2012 Jack Adams Award is, Ken Hitchcock!” Monteith announced and we clapped for the Blues Coach.

There was a commercial break I looked towards Sidney and leaned over, “I’m happy you brought Kasey,” I said and he smirked and nodded his head. Geno appeared on the screen, he was getting interview in the back. They showed the Stanley Cup on the screen and then showed what the cup’s been up to while in Vegas.

“So what award is next?” Nick asked and I shrugged my shoulders.

“We’ll find out, I guess,” I said and he nodded his head.

Erin Andrews appeared on the stage and announced that Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak of the St. Louis Blues both won the William M. Jennings Trohey, for best goalie(s) to let in the fewest goals. She announced that the Maurice Richard Trophy was won by Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning for top scorer. She also announced that Geno won the Art Ross Trophy for who leads in total points at the end of the regular season.

Joshua Jackson, the famous ‘Charlie’ from the Mighty Ducks, came onto the stage and I smiled, always having a little school girl crush on my favorite Duck. Nick nudged my shoulder, knowing about my crushed and I rolled my eyes, hearing him snicker. Jackson announced the Calder Memorial winner to be Gabriel Landeskog from Colorado Avalanche. He announced that St. Louis Blues, Doug Armstrong won the General Manager of the Year Award.

Michael Varton came onto the stage to announce who was going to be on the cover of the NHL ’13 video game. Steven Stamkos, who won NHL ’12 cover came out and helped announced that Claude Giroux was going to be on the cover. I clapped but frowned, not the fact that I wasn’t happy for him, just the fact that I didn’t like his team.

Andi Petrillo and PJ Stock from CBC Sports came onto the stage, “We’re here to announce the second nominee for the Hart Trophy,” Petrillo said, “Not only is this person a very unique person, an asset on their team and the league, but they’re also very good at what they. The second nominee for the Hart Memorial Trophy, the Trophy that represents the most valuable player, from Pittsburgh Penguins, the only girl in the league, the beautiful, Maggie Marshall.”

My eyes widened and I watched on the screen as my name appeared and clips of my accomplishments soon followed. I felt hands patting my back and congratulations being heard from every direction. I smiled brightly and shook my head; I was just so happy right then.

“Congratulations, babe,” I heard Pat whisper into my ear and I turned back and smiled towards him, thanking him. I looked towards the screen as they showed me sitting at my chair, I smiled and gave a little wave and felt Nick lean over towards me.

“Proud of you,” he said and I laughed and gave him a little hug.

“Thank you,” I said and then nodded my head.

“Mike would be proud,” he said and I felt my eyes water again, “Don’t cry.”

“Shut up, I’m a girl, it happens!” I said and he laughed.

“Stick around to see if Marshall could be the fourth Penguin to win the Hart Trophy in the last twenty years,” Stock said and I took a deep breath.

‘…This is really happening…’ I thought and saw Kris smiling towards me.

Kevin Connolly came onto the stage and announced that Boston Bruins, Patrice Bergeron won the Frank J. Selke Award, the best forward who excels in defensive plays. He announced that Montreal Canadiens, Max Paciortty won the Bill Masterton Trophy, the best player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Eric Stonestreet, best known for his role as ‘Cam’ on Modern Family, came onto the stage and announced Daniel Alfredsson from the Ottawa Senators as the winner of the King Clancy Trophy, the player that best shows leadership on and off the ice and known for his contributions to the community. He announced that Mike Fisher from the Nashville Predators won the NHL Foundation Player Award for commitment, perseverance and teamwork. He also announced that Shane Doan from the Phoenix Coyotes won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.

Colin Hanks, known from his time on Dexter, came onto the stage and said he was going to announce the nominees for the Lady Byng Trophy, “Awarded to the player who exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and best conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability; here are your nominees… Florida Panthers, Brian Campbell… Pittsburgh Penguins, Maggie Marshall… Edmonton Oilers, Jordon Eberle,” I smiled and then took a deep breath, “And the winner of the Lady Byng Trophy,” Hanks opened the puck, “The lady herself, Pittsburgh Penguins, Maggie Marshall.”

I smiled and stood up, Nick hugged me, I did knuckle bumps with Jon and Pat, hugged Geno and Sidney and then walked up to the stage, accepted the award and walked to the mic, really nervous, “Uh, thank you, you know, this is an honor, not only can I say that I’m the only woman in the NHL, but I can now saw I’m the only woman to win Lady Byng herself. I like to thank the whole Pittsburgh Penguins for giving me a shot, my parents, my brothers, my friends and family in both Vancouver and Dallas, I uh- I definitely have to thank the fans, we all know we wouldn’t excel without them. So uh- Yeah, thank you!” I laughed a little, held up the trophy and then turned around to walk to the backstage with Colin Hanks.

While I was backstage, I watched Kathryn Tappen and Barry Melrose from the NHL Network walk out onto the stage and announced that Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos was the third nominee for the Hart Trophy. Nickelback came back onto the stage ad I was still backstage doing in interview on how I felt about winning the Lady Byng Trophy. After that I made my way back to my seat and got congratulated again by my friends, teammates and players that I walked passed.

“So how does it feel to be a Hart nominee?” I heard and looked down to see James turned around in his seat in front of me, he and Matt Niskanen smiling at me.

“Feels pretty damn good,” I laughed.

“It should,” Sidney smiled and I looked over towards and nodded my head, “You deserve it.”

“Now wait a minute, we don’t know if I won it,” I said and the guys laughed.

“You win, listen to Russian, he know,” Geno said and I smiled and patted his cheek.

“Thanks G,” I said and Geno smiled and nodded his head.

Ray Liotta came onto the stage to announce which goaltender won the Vezina Trophy, “New York Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist… Los Angeles Kings, Jonathan Quick… Nashville Predators, Pekka Rinne. And the winner of the Vezina Trophy for the best goalie for the 2011-2012 season goes to,” Liotta opened the puck, “Henrik Lundqvist.”

Lundqvist went onto stage and started to thank people, but we all started to crack up laughing when he accidently said ‘holy fuckin’ shit’ on live television because he was so excited to win the trophy. I laughed and clapped for him, happy when he said that he was happy to get that out of his system.

‘…This is it…’ I started to get really nervous, ‘…The last trophy…’

“You ready?” Nick asked and I looked at him.

“No,” I said and he laughed and patted my knee.

“Win or not, I still love you,” he said and I smiled and kissed his cheek.

“Love you too, Nicky.”

Vince Vaughn, Chicago Blackhawks fan, Pat and Jon wouldn’t let me forget that, came onto the stage; he was here to announce the winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy, “In the eighty eight years that the Hart Trophy has been given out, only three winners didn’t make the Hall of Fame once they were eligible. Even more proof that tonight is about the winners. Any case, to whoever wins tonight’s Hart Trophy, your golden years look pretty good. This award is a huge honor and all of the nominees are worthy of it- Let’s take one more quick look,” the screen showed Lundqvist, Stamkos and my clips again and I let out a shaky nervous breath. Nick was holding one hand while Geno was holding the other; I felt Pat’s hand on my shoulder and looked towards Sidney to see him wink towards me. James and the others told me that I had this, I didn’t know whether or not to believe them, Lundqvist and Stamkos were really good players, “And the winner is…”

‘…Fuck I have to pee…’ I thought and then shook my head.

“Maggie Marshall,” Vaughn announced and I laughed and nodded my head.

“Told ya!” James said and I smiled brightly and kept nodding my head.

I stood up and hugged my brother, Geno, Sidney, knuckle bumped with James, Matt, Pat and Jon. Walked onto the steps and was hugged and congratulated by Stamkos and Lundqvist. I smiled and walked up the stairs to the stage, but I was so shaky that I almost tripped, making my face go completely red. I accepted my trophy and shook Vince Vaughn’s hand and then walked up to the mic.

“I swear those steps were a lot easier the first time! Guys, consider yourselves lucky you don’t have to wear heels,” I laughed and shook my head, feeling better when I the crowd laugh too, “Uh, wow, I really didn’t- Just wow- I’m gunna be PG here,” I said and looked towards Lundqvist to see him smirking and shaking his head, “This is definitely a huge honor, uh- I just- I don’t really don’t know what to say other than thank you. From since I was a little kid, Mike and I,” I looked down and bit my lip, begging myself not to cry, I didn’t have to explain what happened, I knew that everyone in this room and everyone watching from home new why I choked up a little, “Mike and I dreamed about playing for the NHL, to win the Lord Stanley and to win the Hart Trophy. I know he’s watching down on me and probably bitchin’- Oh crap, I’m not suppose to curse,” I laughed and shook my head hearing some snickers, “Whining about how I got it first, but truth is, I probably would be nowhere without Mike, so, I dedicate this to my twin, my little brother,” I definitely started the water works there, people stood and clapped for me and I smiled, “Love you, Mikey.”