TYLER
It's pregame at home, my first game since coming back from Boston. I'm excited to be back, but more excited that the kids finally get to see me play. I wave to them from the ice during warmup, the nanny in between them with an armload of snacks. They wave back and the camera catches them, putting their images on the jumbotron for a moment. Nanny Patricia - who's pushing sixty and in zero danger of ever being hit on by me - points it out and their grins grow huge on their little faces as they see themselves larger-than-life on the screen.
Oddly, that moment of happiness carries me, and we have a damn good game, holding two first-period goals all the way through for a shutout.