The Final Goal

Skylar was pleasantly surprised when the next few weeks passed by quickly. The Penguins won against the Flyers, surprising almost everyone but Skylar. She had faith that her boys would win. Skylar went to the game against the Rangers on February 10th, hoping it would be a good game. In the third period, Skylar watched as Dumoulin's stick went up in the air and hit Patric in the mouth. Skylar winced seeing him feel his teeth with his tongue, a disgusted look on his face when he tasted his blood. At the end of the game, the Rangers won, Henrik Lundqvist getting another shutout. Skylar knew she was biased, but she was not a fan of that man.

The game against the Canes a few days letter was better. Skylar was watching from Patric's living room, anxious as time wore on. When the Penguins went up 1-0, she hoped they would finish the game strong. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes scored and tied the game 1-1. Her stomach squeezed in nervous anticipation as she watched the overtime start. The clock wound down extremely slow, seeming to move at a snail's pace. The Penguins had some amazing chances, but could not score. Skylar watched in disbelief as the game moved into a shootout. She almost didn't want to watch, yet she couldn't look away. Fleury saved all of the shots so far, when Letang stepped onto the ice for his turn to win the game. He skated down the ice, carrying the puck with him and scoring.

When the horn went off, Skylar jumped from her seat on the couch and cheered, overjoyed that the team was able to win. The whole team jumped off the bench and onto the ice, half running to congratulate Letang and the other half running to Fleury. Skylar watched, her face full of pride, as Fleury skated off the ice.

Her 23rd birthday was upon her extremely fast, and she didn't know if she wanted to do anything to celebrate. For her, the perfect day would be going to the Penguins and Panthers game tonight, but unfortunately she wasn't able to go. It was the players' weekend with their dads anyway and she didn't want to interfere with their plans. From what she had heard, Fleury and his father had similar personalities and even though she couldn't wait to meet him, she knew now was not the right time.

Stretching from her position on the couch, Skylar looked around for her phone. She was never able to keep track of the stupid device, always losing it. Shifting in her seat, she reached under her to find it lodged between the seat cushions. Pulling it free, she looked at the screen and saw she had three messages.

Fleury: "You going to watch the game?"

Beau: "Hey can I come over? I'm lonely :("

Sia: "Happy birthday :D haven't talked to u in awhile! U still alive?"

Skylar quickly responded to all the texts, telling Fleury that yes she would be watching the game. It's not like she has anything else to do. She texted Beau, figuring he could come over. She was bored and having some company could help, so she also invited Sia over. She felt somewhat guilty since she hasn't texted or called her in awhile. Yes Skylar was busy, but that wasn't any excuse to forget about your friends.

An hour later, Skylar opened up the front door to see Beau standing on the porch. "Hey come on in!" Skylar said, moving out of the doorway so he could step inside. "How are you feeling?" Skylar asked, knowing he had to be dying to get back on the ice. She figured it would be rough having to watch your teammates win and lose without you, not able to help them. "I'm doing a little better, but it'll take some time," he admitted, tone displaying how annoyed he was with the situation.

A knock at the door made Skylar turn back around. Opening the door, Skylar smiled, "Hey come in."
She shut the door behind Sia and followed her into the living room. Beau was already on the couch, so Skylar took a seat next to him, while Sia sat in the armchair. "Beau, this is my friend Sia. Sia, this is Beau Bennett," Skylar said, introducing the two to each other with a smile. "Hi, nice to meet you," Beau said, smiling one of his dazzling, sunshiny smiles. Skylar sometimes didn't know if he was able to feel negative emotions because he seemed to always have a smile on his face. "Hi, nice to meet you too," Sia said, smiling back. "So what're we going to do?" Sia asked. "Well, I figured we could watch the Penguins game," Skylar said, reaching for the remote and flipping to Root Sports.

"There's still an hour left before the game though," Beau said, glancing at the time on his phone. "Well we'll have to pass the time until then," Skylar said, getting up and pouring herself a glass of water. "Water?" she asked from the kitchen. "Yes, please," Beau and Sia said, almost at the same time. Walking back to her seat on the couch, she handed them each their glass of water. After she sat down she turned and leaned back, propping her legs up on Beau's lap, needing to stretch out her legs.

"No, your feet smell," Beau said in mock disgust, scrunching his face because of a nonexistent smell. Sia laughed at the look on his face, "Honestly it wouldn't be surprising if her feet smelled. When we went on our trip to Niagara Falls, we had to room together and I swear she wore the same pair of socks for the whole trip!" Beau looked at Skylar, his eyes wide with surprise. "Is that true?" he asked, surprised and slightly horrified. "I wasn't able to do my laundry and only had one pair of socks, okay?!" Skylar said, struggling to defend herself as her face turned red. "Why would you only bring one pair of socks?!" Beau asked, an incredulous look his face. "I didn't do it on purpose!" Skylar said laughing, "I just forgot the other pairs. I think I left them on my bed." Sia laughed, knowing firsthand just how forgetful her friend was. Beau shook his head, and Skylar saw he was still struggling to comprehend what he just heard.

The game started slightly after 7:30 as usual, and Skylar took a sip of her water, ready for the exciting game that was sure to come. The last two games against the Panthers had gone into overtime with both teams playing incredibly well.

The Panthers scored early and first, not quite dominating the game, yet playing a strong, fast paced game. The action was back and forth the whole game, not one team dominating in anything. Skylar was almost certain the Penguins would lose the game, until she saw Kunitz rifle a shot past Montoya. Skylar and Beau jumped to their feet in an instant, pure joy reflected on their faces. Skylar smiled at Sia, who was looking at them like they were insane, and said, "Isn't this exciting? We tied it up!". Sia smiled, "Yeah it's exciting, but jeez calm down! We don't want the neighbors to call the police because of your over-celebration habits," Sia said, rolling her eyes at the way Skylar was jumping up and down. "Don't worry, Sia. They won't care; they're fans," Skylar said, turning her gaze back to the TV.

Skylar and Beau sat on the edge of the couch, nervous because of the overtime session that was about to start. The overtime was full of chances, but both teams could not capitalize on their chances, so the game moved into a shootout. Skylar always hated the shootouts, but it shows which player has the better skills. When it was Sid's turn to shoot, he made his shot, causing Beau and Skylar to cheer again. Skylar just looked at Sia and smirked when she rolled her eyes. Unfortunately, two of the Panthers scored, which placed the outcome of the game into the hands of Matt Cullen. Skylar hadn't interacted with him much, still needing to get to know the new guys, but from what little time she had spent with him, she could tell he was a nice guy. Cullen took the puck and skated down the ice, but failed to score on Montoya. The Panthers had won the game in the shootout.

Skylar fell back into the couch cushions, deflated. She knew Fleury would blame himself for this loss, probably thinking, "What if i had stopped those shots?". Skylar couldn't blame the guy; she figured it would be rough, but it wasn't his fault. Both teams played good games, which is all they can ask for.

"Well, that kills," Beau said, changing the channel and Skylar assumed he didn't want to see the postgame. "Hey at least you guys got a point, right?" Sia said, making an attempt to lighten the mood but failing. Skylar saw that the sunshiny sparkle that was in Beau's eyes only moments before was gone, now replaced with a look that made Skylar want to pull him into a tight embrace. "Yeah, but we need to win," Beau said, looking down at his feet. Skylar bumped him with her shoulder. "Come on, Beau. It's okay! At least we aren't the Blue Jackets," Skylar said, chuckling. Just thinking about their Ohio rivals made her laugh. That new coach of theirs is a jerk and Skylar couldn't wait to play them again. Malkin was hit during their last encounter and she had heard that Tortorella had claimed Malkin faked the injury, which is absolutely absurd. Skylar knew Malkin wouldn't fake an injury. Personally, she believes that injury is why he isn't playing right now. His knee was hit in that game, so it would make sense.

"Well, I gotta go guys," Sia said, stretching as she stood up. "Okay, thank you for coming," Skylar said, standing up and giving her a slight, awkward hug. "I should be going too," Beau said, walking to the entrance and grabbing his jacket from the closet. "Okay, sorry about the game, Beau. They'll do better in the next game," Skylar said, trying to assure him that next time would be different. He only nodded his head and followed Sia out the door, giving a small smile as he shut the door behind them. Skylar sighed and turned off the TV before making her way upstairs. She hoped she didn't lie to Beau by telling him the next game would be different. Hopefully, her words will ring true and they beat the Red Wings. If Malkin is back by then, that would be an easier task. Unable to do anything to help the team, she got into her bed and closed her eyes, hoping Malkin is back by Thursday and can help the boys win the game.