Page 145 of No Line Change

Dylan Everett. Elite Goal Scorer, NHL All Star, Babysitter, and Manicurist

All in a day’s work ;)

Henri and his father ordered takeout and settled into their seats by the fire to watch the All-Star Games. Not a first for them, but a long-abandoned ritual from Henri’s pre-teens that had been lost around his mother’s passing. Life had become too busy, and the empty chair between them had felt too large. It had taken years for them to find any comfort in sitting in the living room together again, to acknowledge that they were a family of two instead of three.

“This should be a good tournament,” his father said. “I see the highlights every year, and it’s boring. The same people, all of them only pretending to play. There are some new faces this year.”

“Novak was very excited to attend,” Henri said.

“Good that Sokolov left. He stole all the attention. The Turkeys have some very good players, but it was always Everett and Sokolov. Now they are starting to see past that narrative.”

Henri made a noncommittal noise. He didn’t want to talk about Sokolov. Didn’t want to think about Sokolov, either, but there’d be no escaping him. Chicago and Albuquerque were in the same division, so they’d be on the same All-Star team. And because of their history, the league would expect Dylan and Sokolov to be on a line together. As captain, Dylan could change that…but he would probably give in and let the fans have what they wanted.

As his father rambled on about the new faces—Ryan Russell, a forward from the Blue Crabs who was rising in the league; Anders Nilsson, a defenseman who had been selected for the All-Stars every year but declined to play until this year; Maximilian Alphenheim, a German defenseman on the Prowlers who’d gone to represent his team now that Lars Nilsson wasn’t there to do it. There were others, but the names washed over Henri. He had no energy to pretend he cared about any of them; he was only watching for one person, and his game was second, after the Eastern Conference matchup.

The Metro team won over the Atlantic, which wasn’t surprising. It took five minutes for Henri to realize they were the better team. There was obviously some back and forth, because defense was optional today and the goalies mostly didn’t want to get injured.

When the Central team took the ice, Henri braced for it. He knew what the top line would be, just as he knew the pang of jealousy it would elicit. Still, when he watched Sokolov head to center ice for the opening face-off with Dylan trailing behind to take wing, it turned his stomach.

“Hmmm,” his father hummed. “This is a bad idea.”

“Why?” Henri asked. He didn’t take his eyes off the screen.

“They haven’t played together in a while. Sokolov skipped the All-Star game last year, remember? Chicago doesn’t play the same way as Albuquerque. And Everett will be used to having you, and you don’t play the way Sokolov does. He’s adjusted to your style, but Sokolov won’t know that. It’ll take a few shifts to figure it out.”

“I doubt it, Papa.” Sokolov won the face-off. “They played together for a decade. I’m sure they remember.”

For the first ten seconds, it appeared Henri was right. Their speed was incredible as they came in on a rush. Dylan had the puck, drew the defenseman with him to the right. The slot was wide open, so Dylan sent the puck…

To no one. Sokolov was ten feet away from where Dylan had anticipated, and the Pacific team easily collected it and went in the opposite direction. Henri saw Dylan’s pinched look of confusion before he hustled back, heard the commentators question what Sokolov and Dylan had been thinking with that play, and noticed Sokolov’s overly aggressive end to his shift to make up for the blunder.

“See,” his father said. “You would’ve been there. But Sokolov was expecting a drop pass.”

“They’ll figure it out,” Henri said. He assumed they would. He might not like Sokolov, but together he and Dylan had been unstoppable for a decade. Muscle memory would kick in, eventually.

It didn’t. They were even worse on their second shift, and the third was no better. It was, quite simply, a complete train wreck. They both missed passes, never had any idea where the other was, and soon Sokolov wasn’t even able to win the face-offs to give them a fighting chance. At first, Henri wondered if they were doing this on purpose. One or both of them trying to prove a point to the other.

Their defensive breakdown on the last shift of the first period led to a goal against. The camera panned to Dylan and Sokolov after the goal, both looking angry and frustrated. The difference was that Sokolov was glaring at the goalie as if it were his fault, and Dylan was looking at Sokolov.

No, Henri realized. Neither is doing it on purpose.

“I don’t get it,” one commentator said during the intermission. “Sokolov and Everett are absolutely terrible on the ice together. The other team may as well have a power play when their line is out.”

“I told you,” Henri’s father said smugly.

“They might fix it,” Henri deflected as he took out his phone and sent a quick message.

Henri

Not a great start, but you’ll net a few

Their defense is pinching like crazy, they’ll get burned sooner or later

Dylan

Ew you’re watching this shit show?

Of course