Playoff Heartbreakers ft. Patrik Laine

[Laine 1,361]

Heading into the 3rd period of a game that would define our season, we were trailing 4-2 to the Moscow Menace. We had heaps of talent and had won the conference during the regular season, but were a mere 20 minutes away from elimination. All of sudden, things started to shift in our favour.

 

"Helsinki's power play will go back to work here, with Lagesson in the box for holding. Vikingstad wins the draw back to Rune. Rune takes a slapshot...save....rebound....SCORE! HIROSHI OKADA AND THE TITANS ARE WITHIN ONE!"

 

"Helsinki will get a power play here with 5:30 to go in the third. Absolutely have to score here. Vikingstad wins it back to Elsby. He feeds it to Laine but that one wasn't in the wheelhouse. Laine back to Elsby....shot on net AND THEY SCORE! ELSBY WITH THE SHOT, IT LOOKS LIKE OKADA GOT A STICK ON IT AND WE ARE TIED AT FOUR HERE IN HELSINKI!"

 

Using our special teams to crawl out of a 4-2 hole and tie the game. We weren't done yet, and me, being a franchise player, decided to attempt to put the game away.

 

"3:30 left to go here in Helsinki. 4-4 is our score with Okada scoring back to back power play goals. Faceoff is in the Helsinki zone. Vikingstad wins it back to Elsby. Elsby back to Vikingstad. HERE'S A LEAD PASS TO LAINE IN ALONE. LAINE..........SCORES! PATRIK. LAINE. THE TITANS ARE BACK IN FRONT 5-4 WITH 3:14 TO GO IN THE THIRD PERIOD! ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVEABLE!"

 

"HEY, WE GOT THE LEAD, BUT WE AREN'T DONE YET. LET'S FINISH THIS GAME!" I yelled, trying to instill confidence in my team.

 

We appeared to have done the impossible. However, one controversial call would change our season forever

 

"This one shot into the Moscow zone and icing looks like the call. We got a penalty on the play. I think it is going to Laine here, but for what? Looking at the scoreboard I don't see anything wrong on the play, he's just finishing his check. Let's see what the refs call it.

 

"Helsinki #29, Two Minutes for Holding the Stick"

 

"THAT'S A BULLSH*T CALL AND YOU KNOW IT!" I yelled, venting my frustration as I skated to the penalty box.

 

Sitting in the box was probably the most painful thing. I knew the call was a bad call and I was frustrated. I was hoping that the penalty kill would come up big, which was perfect up until that point. Unfortunately, it didn't stay perfect for long.

 

"Walking in is Lahtinen. SCORE! Mikko Lahtinen and the Menace tie the game up 5-5 with 1:32 to go."

 

I slammed my stick in the penalty box, shattering it into two and skated back to the bench. I was surprised when Coach Jubo told me to go back out for the next faceoff. I was confused by the decision, but I didn't go against it. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, they di

 

"Menace preparing for one last rush here with 25 seconds to go. Letang passes it out to Davis. In with speed comes Davis. Across to Lahtinen. Shot by Lahtinen, SCORE! THE MENACE SCORE WITH 15 SECONDS TO GO! IT LOOKED LIKE THE SHOT WAS GOING WIDE BUT IT WENT OFF LAINE IN FRONT AND THE MENACE LEAD 6-5 WITH 15 SECONDS TO GO IN THE THIRD. UNBELIEVEABLE

 

I felt the puck go off me and when I heard the shock in the crowd I knew what happened. I didn't even waste my time. I skated right to the bench, sat down, and put my head down. I had costed my team the entire season. 15 seconds later, the final buzzer rang. Season over. I got off the bench and went and shook hands with the Menace. I had some good friends on the Menace, like Alex Letang for example, so it was cool when I got to shake hands with them and see them move on. When I got to Mikko Lahtinen, he could kinda see the look in my eyes. He had scored 4 of the 6 goals that eliminated us. But he pulled my head up and told me something that blew my m

 

"Good series, Laine. I know it is tough to lose, especially like that, but keep your head up. You'll go through a lot of losses like this across your career, but you just gotta keep going. You'll be back next season. Take care of yourself, you'll be elite next year for sure."

 

That was a great piece of advice. I thought about it for a moment and then responded

 

"Yeah, good luck in the next round as well. Go win it all." I said. I really did mean it when I said it to him.

 

I finished the rest of the handshake lines and made my way to the locker room.

 

It was a really quiet locker room. I made my way to my stall and sat down. All I felt was just this overwhelming feeling of sadness but also anger. I sat there for about 15 minutes before I had the strength to take my gear off.

 

I remember the instant I got up to take my gear off. I removed my helmet and Spencer Elsby, one of our Top 4 defenders came up and gave me a hug. I hugged back of course. He had become one of my best friends in Helsinki and was only a year older than me. Throughout the time being, Rune, Vaak, Driver, Summers, Vikingstad, Helminen and the rest of the Titans slowly came over as well. I guess they could see my frustration and held off for a little bit when we first enter the room.

 

Eventually, Coach Jubo and AGM Blade came down the locker room. We had all taken our gear off and were awaiting the media by this point. They talked to us for a bit about how it was tough to lose and everything like that. It made me upset seeing them sad, especially since we had lost in the finals both of the seasons prior to this. I really wanted to win the two of them a ring, they deserve it.

 

As I was making my way towards the door to go to where the media would meet us, Jubo and Blade pulled me aside and took me into their office. I won't lie, it was really nervous going into their, especially after you were a part of 2 goals that ended your season just hours earlier. I sat down and listened as they spoke.

 

"That was a tough end for you, Laine. We were watching from up in the press box. We just wanted to make sure you are alright after that." Jubo said

 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just.....really frustrated and upset." I replied

 

"Well, even though it was a tough loss, we were pleased with the development we saw in your game this season. You took strides in your offensive play, improved defensively and we seen the gradual improvement in your skating." Blade said to me.

 

"I just attempted to work as hard I can for you guys. I love playing for this team and I feel bad for costing us the season. I love this team and I love you guys." I said, my tone did seem a little sad though.

 

"Hey, keep your head up high, kid." Jubo said, "We may have lost in a tough way, but we fought all the way to the end. A year is not a failure just because you fail to get the job done. You had an excellent year and I love your passion for this team. We loved the improvement we saw with you and I want you to be ready to go next season, alright kid?"

He smiled at me as he said this. It instilled a bit of confidence in me.

 

"Your leadership ability in the locker room was also evident. Me and Jubo have been talking over the entire season about this, but we think you are already a superstar, and you are only going to get better next year. Your first 30 goal season, almost a point/game across the entire year and even a point/game playoff run. You have a lot of positive things to look back on across this season. Keep your head up for me. We can't wait to have you back next season, Laine!" Blade added, with a smile on her face as well.

 

"Thanks guys. I just feel like I let you down. However, this doesn't mean I am done. It just means I gotta train that much harder this offseason." I said, lifting my head up and smiling as well.

"That's the spirit, kid! Now get out there, you got some media interviews to do." Jubo said

"Thanks guys, I'll be sure to keep you up to date during the offseason." I said

 

"Any time you want to come down here to train, feel free to. We'll be waiting for you." said Blade.

 

I gave them a wave and walked with Elsby down to the media room for interviews. The interviews were a whole lot of nothing, just the same old generic questions over and over again. Not to say I don't like doing interviews, but I like some interesting questions.

 

After the session, I made my way back to the locker room and pick my stuff up. I met Elsby, Vaakanainen, Spaz and Driver at the back of the building. We were going to train at my place during the offseason leading up until the ProAM tournament I hosted after the playoffs.

 

It is going to be a long offseason, but Helsinki, the team, management and the fans motivate me to work that much harder.

 

(1630 words, good for 3 weeks)

 

Spoiler

@Jubo07 @Big Bob @enigmatic @Dil @Tbeez99 @Erik Summers @Emi @Tape-to-Tape @BladeMaiden @Beketov @Spartan

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by PatrikLaine

[Spartan 4,531]

You'll bounce back bud, y'all have a hell of a squad. Looking forward to competing with Laine every season until I retire. Then to compete against you with our next players.

[Laine 1,361]

8 minutes ago, Spartan said:

You'll bounce back bud, y'all have a hell of a squad. Looking forward to competing with Laine every season until I retire. Then to compete against you with our next players.

For sure, lots of Laine vs Letang matches upcoming!

[Beketov 9,101]

Simon likes his drama. Last season we steamrollered our way to the victory cup and you guys stomped us in 5. This season you won’t the conference and I guess Lahtinen decided enough was enough in game 7. You’ll bounce back. @Jubo07 is a fantastic GM who’s a wizard with lines and there’s a hell of a lot of talent on your squad, this just wasn’t your year.

[Gally 61]

Review: Wow, just going to say, one of the best articles I've ever seen. Extremely well written, good spacing, new paragraphs for the quotes, and overall a great story. I love how you used your teammates, and the announcer was perfect. Everything was spot on. Love it.

10/10

[NickSunderbruch 392]

These are the articles I love seeing the most in this league. I love how you told a complex story with tons of emotion. You're going to be back next season better than ever, and I know you'll shock the world man. These are one of those articles that you just gotta give a solid 10/10. Keep articles like this coming. 

[ROOKIE745 607]

review: This is probably the most refreshing VHL post I've read, just the focus on first person and seeing and hearing it all from your player's prospective isn't something we see all to much, and never at this kind of length. Good pacing and separating the text the way you did makes it a much easier read which greatly appreciated, the only small issues I noticed here were you forgetting to finish some of your sentences, for instance "Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, they di" and "But he pulled my head up and told me something that blew my m" These are very minor, just something I did want to mention. A quick edit could fix those so I don't mind, otherwise I'd say this a 10/10 MS!!

[Laine 1,361]

claiming for a 2nd week

[Laine 1,361]

claiming for the 3rd and final week