The implication settled over me like a second skin. “What about Cinder?”
“Professionally he is protected. Personally, to say you screwed up is putting it mildly. I don't know what else the man threatened you with, but I know it was personal.”
Chapter twenty-two
Shootout - A tie-breaker where players take turns shooting one-on-one against the goalie.
Cinder
The support and medical staff all sat in Nancy’s office watching the game. It was the second of four on their road trip, and Levin was the starting goalie. I didn’t want to watch, but as a medic, it would have looked odd as we were required to observe fitness. The screen mounted on Nancy's wall was too small for the number of people crammed into the office, but nobody complained. We'd dragged in extra chairs from the break room, and Jess from equipment management had brought popcorn like this was a movie night instead of a professional hockey game with playoff implications.
Juan, one of the assistant physios and in his first season with the team, frowned. “Okay, I’m confused. The wild card doesn't seem to affect the division?”
Nancy followed his gaze to the screen, then gave a small huff of amusement.
“Welcome to hockey math,” she said.
He blinked. “That didn’t help.”
She pointed at the graphic on the wall. “Eight teams from each conference make the playoffs. The top three in each division go automatically. That’s six spots.”
“Okay.”
“The last two spots are wild cards. Best records left in the conference.”
“So we’re one of those at the moment, but it could change.”
“Right.” Nancy folded her arms.
The assistant relaxed immediately. “So… why does everyone look like they’re about to be executed?”
Nancy pointed again, this time to the division column.
“Because the wild card isn’t where anyone wants to finish, even if we hang on to it.”
“Why not?”
“Wild cards usually get the strongest division winner in the first round.” She shrugged. “That’s a rough way to start the playoffs.”
The assistant squinted at the numbers.
“And the Dragons could still move up or down?”
“Exactly.” Nancy tapped the screen where the standings showed the third-place team only a few points ahead.
“If we catch them, we move into the top three in the division. That gives us a normal playoff position instead of the wild card.”
He nodded slowly.
“So tonight matters because…”
Nancy finished the sentence for him.
“Because if we lose tonight, that gap probably gets too big to close before the season ends.”
He looked back at the screen again, understanding dawning.
“So we have a chance of the playoffs…”
