#at least leon is there now so he and brady can both help matthew when he's hurt

[drysaladandketchup]

22 Mattdrai please

Thank you anon! I hope you enjoy :)

22. things you said after it was over

Last year, it was Matthew's precious Flames that got punted out of the playoffs. To add insult to injury, it was at the hands of the Oilers. Which is why, that same night, he sent Leon a slew of drunken texts from some dingy downtown bar because he was not in the mood to even look at Leon, let alone go home with him.

Those texts included one declaring they were breaking up, which Leon didn't take to heart because not even five minutes later he got another message assuring him that no they were not actually breaking up Matthew was just going to hate him for the next 48 hours. That, Leon could handle.

Hell, he'd probably have gone for 72 hours. Minimum. And he had to rest his ankle anyways, if he wanted any chance of seeing ice-time the next game. He'd be there when Matthew was ready.

This year, it's the Oilers who go out first.

Leon just barely keeps it together through the post-game media frenzy. He doesn't want to look at the cameras, barely keeps the shudder from his voice, which is little more than a whimper because he just can’t breathe. Hunkered down with his hood up because it feels safe, the only barrier between him and a world that just crushed his dream. Again.

It's not like he can be mad at Matthew, because he fucked off to Florida, a whole other division, so Leon has no excuse for not answering any of his texts, or the six separate times Matthew tried to call after Vegas knocked Edmonton on it's ass.

Only once Leon's back home for the night, drained and exhausted and dazed, refusing to go out with Connor and the guys because he really, really doesn't want to exist right now, does he look at his phone.

Cuddling Bowie in his arms, he sits on the couch and scrolls through the avalanche of texts from Matthew. The last one catches him off guard, and he stares at it, reading it over and over.

come down and see me. please.

And... yeah. Through the doom and gloom of another lost season, he misses Matthew. Matthew, who's season isn't done. Matthew, who doesn't need Leon, but wants him. Wants him to be there.

So Leon books a flight to Florida, and starts packing.

The next day he goes in early for clear-out, says his goodbyes, and drives right to the airport. After an almost nine hour flight--including a layover in Denver that's great for his legs but not his morale--he lands in Fort Lauderdale just as the sun hits the horizon.

Matthew's waiting for him at Arrivals, dressed in board shorts and sandals and button-down shirt, sunglasses and that damn bucket hat. He smiles when he sees Leon, waves, and the simplicity of it chips away at the heavy stone sitting on Leon's chest. He always breathes better when he's with Matthew.

"What, not even a sign?" Leon calls out once he's in earshot. "I thought you were excited to see me?"

Matthew slaps the brim of Leon's hat down over his eyes. "Next time I'll bring confetti canons and air horns."

And fuck, just hearing Matthew's voice again without a phone between them lifts a weight off Leon's shoulders. It almost makes the defeat worth it.

His hands are too empty suddenly. He wants to hold Matthew's, wrap him up in his arms, touch him anywhere and everywhere, inside and out. Replenish old memories, make new ones. Never let go again.

Matthew gets the jump on him once they're in his car, dragging Leon over the center console by his shirt and into a sloppy kiss. It's all tongue and teeth, scratchy beard and plush lips, and as always, it's perfect. This too, aches like a phantom pain when they're on opposite ends of the continent. Phone sex and a bit of imagination with his own hand can't totally replace the sex, but it definitely can't replace the sweetness of a kiss.

When he pulls back, Matthew looks like he's going to immediately drop the one thing Leon really doesn't want to hear--the dreaded I'm sorry about what happened--so he jumps first.

"I missed you."

If Matthew knows he's purposely being cut off, he doesn't show it. He bumps their foreheads together and closes his eyes, like he's just soaking Leon in.

"Missed you too."

As the dusk fades to night, they drive, and drive, and drive. Not to Matthew's house, that's immediately obvious, but Leon doesn't ask where they're going. He slumps in the passenger's seat, leg tucked up against the dashboard, and goes between watching palm trees and glistening waterfront, to watching Matthew.

He tries not to think about hockey, but it was a long and restless flight, and Matthew's got a stupid little air freshener shaped like skates, and the playoffs aren't actually over, so of course the first thing Leon says to break the silence is, "When's your next game?"

Matthew taps his fingers on the steering wheel in time with the music playing on the radio. "Thursday. Against Carolina. We're flying out the day after tomorrow."

"Hmm. So what are we doing with all that time?"

"Fucking, hopefully." Matthew glances sidelong at him, tongue poking between his teeth. "At least for part of it. I still have practice, and you need to relax."

"What am I doing while you're gone?"

"Waiting for me to come back? You can stay at my place. Come to the games when we're at home. My family's going to drop in too, so, you know, be prepared for that."

Won't be Leon's first tangle with the Tkachuks. Pretty sure he's an honorary member of the family at this point, even if he still struggles to keep up with the energy they bring to a room. Not that he minds.

The rest of the drive is quiet enough that Leon dozes off. When he wakes up, groggy with jet lag, it's dark aside from the street lights, and Matthew is pulling into a parking lot up from a small, deserted beach. Leon doesn't know which one; there's so many here. He follows Matthew out of the car and down the promenade, down the stone steps to the sand, where grains slip between his toes and the sound of the waves soothes the storm in his own head.

Which is exactly why Matthew brought him here; somewhere secluded, somewhere that can't hurt him. Because Leon loves the ocean, and Matthew loves him.

He follows Matthew along the beach, going nowhere in particular. Matthew walks purposefully nonetheless, head high and shoulders back, warm breeze tugging at his clothes and ruffling his curls. Something Leon loves to do too, and can't wait to do again.

This place looks good on Matthew. If only it weren't so far away.

"I'm glad you came," Matthew says over his shoulder, slowing until Leon catches up. "I wasn't sure you would."

Why not? The year-round heat and the beaches and the seemingly endless bars are a nice change of pace. But more importantly, this is where Matthew is. Of course he was going to come.

"Beats sitting around re-watching the second round wondering what we could have done differently," Leon says instead, because it's true, and because he doesn't need to tell Matthew what he already knows.

"Hey, that's not a bad thing. But it's not what you need right now." Matthew swallows, takes an uneven breath like he's the one getting choked up. "I saw your interview yesterday. After the game. Leon, you know I didn't call you down here for me, right? Don't get me wrong, I'd fucking love for you to be here watching us play, but the way you sounded... I was worried you'd end up sitting around your house all alone and depressed."

"I'm not depressed. And I wasn't going to. I was planning on going back home."

"Great, so you can mope around in Germany instead."

"I wouldn't have been alone."

"Much as I love Bowie, he doesn't count, babe."

Leon stops walking, staring at the sand until Matthew stops too, turning back and right into Leon's space to block the wind, which has taken on a chill.

"Leon--"

"Our season's over, Matthew," he mutters. "I really thought we could... I didn't want it to end here."

Matthew sighs, but his eyes are sympathetic. "Yeah. I know. But you're not done. There's always next year. And a bunch more after that."

The same platitudes, every time. It's empty words. Leon knows it. Matthew knows it. But what else is there to say? You fall, you get back up, you try again. Rinse and repeat. That's what this league is.

In any other circumstance, Matthew would probably make some crack about the Oilers and how assuming you guys can actually get your shit together, you may have a chance, but it's, you know, fucking Edmonton, so...

But he's being kind for Leon's sake. Because Matthew's forked tongue turns to silk when he's off the ice. He's so gentle at times like this, handling Leon with kid gloves like he thinks he'll shatter if he so much as breathes too hard.

"I'm just getting tired of it always being 'next year'," Leon admits easily, because it is easy with Matthew. "Every time we come close, we get knocked down. It feels like shit. I'm fucking tired of it."

Every time he climbs the ladder, he tastes victory. The higher the wrung, the sweeter it is. And every time he falls, there's a tiny part of him that worries he'll never get his feet off the ground again.

"Hey." Matthew cups his cheek, forcing Leon to look him in the eye, into pale blues that dance and shine even in the dark. "You're not giving up on me, are you?"

The question catches him so off guard Leon jerks like he's been struck.

"What? No. Fuck no. The hell kind of question is that?"

Quitting has never even crossed his mind. He didn't come into this league thinking it would be easy. He's worked his ass off to get where he is, and sure he's got his own liabilities to work through, but he'll keep going until something gives out.

"Good. Just making sure." Matthew looks so damn smug, but Leon's learned to find that endearing too. "Only place left to go is up, right?"

Right. Leon said something like that to Matthew, once. You win or you lose. Only two options. If you lose, then all you can do next time is win. If you win, you keep winning until you make it to the top. Anger into action, failure into fortune.

Matthew's hand slips down Leon's forearm, searching for his hand, but stops when Leon flinches, and brushes a callused thumb back and forth over the bruise there.

"This from Pietrangelo?"

Leon huffs. "Maniac, yeah. It's fine. It wasn't as bad as it looked."

"Want me to rough him up a little if I see him down the line? My treat. Actually, it'd be my pleasure."

There's that blinding confidence. The Matthew that's going to ensure they blow right past Carolina, through Dallas or Vegas, and raise the Cup. Who's dumb enough to argue with him?

"If you want." Leon's almost too tired to smile, but he tries anyways.

And Matthew softens too, cheeks pinked and teeth showing between his parted lips. It's hard to think back to a time when he would never look at Leon like this; like he's so fucking in love with him it's physically impossible to hide it. Leon can only imagine how he looks to Matthew.

"I'll make you another deal while we're at it," Matthew says.

"A deal or a promise?" Leon knows what's coming, because he knows Matthew. His heart still jumps up into his throat.

"I'll win the Cup for you."

They've learned to say I love you in a million different ways. Somehow, they keep finding new ones.

It's so stupid. Matthew's not arrogant. But then again, he seems to be playing a game no one else is, in a way no one else can. He oozes confidence and bleeds charisma, possesses the kind of karma that can change destinies.

If anyone could actually say it, and do it, it's Matthew. Damn if Leon doesn't believe it, too.

So all he has to do is smile, nod, and say, "Okay."

"Just to be clear," Matthew says, "I'm not doing it for the Oilers. I'm doing it for you. And for me and the Cats, obviously. Maybe... maybe a little more for me and the Cats. No offence, babe."

Leon snorts. "It's fine. It's yours. You earned it."

"So have you." Damn right he has. "Shit just sucks sometimes."

Leon scoffs and rolls his eyes to whatever unseeing deity keeps fucking him over. But he's done wallowing. He's got something so much better standing right in front of him.

"You said this was a deal." Leon tugs him closer, one hand cupping the back of Matthew's head, pressing the words against his mouth. "So what do you want from me?"

Matthew smiles under his lips. "I just want you to be there to see it."

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Barrie Broken Hand, McDavid Near Miss (Dec 23)

Barrie Broken Hand, McDavid Near Miss, Barzal Hattie, plus more…

With the NHL going dark for a three-day Christmas break starting today, every team except for Calgary was in action on Saturday. Let’s jump right in to what happened and what it could mean.

Mathew Barzal scored goals number 10, 11, and 12 on the season with a plus-3 ranking in the Islanders’ 5-2 win over Winnipeg. The Isles’ rookie is now on a four-game point streak in which he has seven points (4g-3a). With 35 points in 36 games, Barzal is second among NHL rookies with 0.97 points/game. I’m sure there will be debate on this point, but the Calder Trophy competition is currently a two-horse race between Barzal and Brock Boeser.

Jordan Eberle earned the primary assist on all three of Barzal’s goals. He is on a four-game point streak of his own with six points (1g-5a). Should John Tavares skip town after this season, Barzal should be fine inheriting the number one center role, and maybe someone like Brock Nelson would slide in as the number two center. But it would be interesting to see how wingers like Eberle, Andrew Ladd, Josh Bailey, and Anders Lee are affected. I know I’m putting the cart before the horse here, but we never know what next season will hold. With the league’s second-ranked offense (3.56 GF/GP), the Isles’ offense is worth riding whenever possible in the here and now.

Josh Bailey recorded an assist in this game, extending his point streak to eight games. Bailey might become the player with the highest point jump from last season to this season, as he now sits tied for second (with Tavares) in NHL scoring with 46 points already.

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Brad Marchand scored a goal and added two assists in the Bruins’ 3-1 win over Detroit. Of all the players I own this season, I have probably received the most injury notifications on Marchand, a testament of how much he has been in and out of the lineup due to various injuries. But of all the players to play at least 20 games, Marchand is current fifth with 1.23 points per game. So you shouldn’t waste any time getting him back into your lineup when he’s ready to go. This is also why points per game can tell you more about a player’s production than pure points. But injury proneness is still something to pay attention to.

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The Edmonton Oilers won their fourth consecutive game, but it didn’t come without a scare. Connor McDavid left the game late in the third period after blocking a shot with his foot. Fortunately, x-rays came back negative. According to coach Todd McLellan, McDavid is expected to suit up when NHL teams return to action on Wednesday, although his foot is sore. Here’s the film:  

Connor McDavid blocks a shot and needs help limping off to the dressing room. Uh-oh. pic.twitter.com/HrfRQm2wo1

— Faizal Khamisa (@SNFaizalKhamisa) December 24, 2017

Before he left the game, McDavid scored a goal and added an assist.

Leon Draisaitl recorded three assists in this game. He now has a four-game assist streak with seven assists over that stretch.

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Everything is right in Leafland again. Not only did the Leafs snap their four-game losing streak on Saturday, Auston Matthews returned to the Leafs’ lineup after missing the past six games with a concussion. He scored a goal and added an assist in 18:42 of icetime while back on his usual line with William Nylander and Zach Hyman.

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For this ugly sequence of events, Zac Rinaldo received a match penalty, which means an automatic one-game suspension with the possibility for more. Some (like Paul Bissonnette) will argue that punching Samuel Girard was the only thing that Rinaldo could do in that situation with Girard coming at him. But given Rinaldo's track record, he won't be given the benefit of the doubt by the league.   

Yikes. After already taking out Nathan MacKinnon, Zac Rinaldo with a nasty punch on Samuel Girard pic.twitter.com/FsmZwWKajF

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) December 24, 2017

If you’re looking at MacKinnon’s 8:14 in icetime and thinking he left the game with an injury, he was actually given a game misconduct after fighting Josh Archibald in the resulting melee.

But the Avalanche player that fantasy owners need to worry about because of an injury isn’t MacKinnon or Girard. It happens to be Tyson Barrie, who has been diagnosed with a broken bone in his hand after blocking a shot in the first period. Barrie is currently tied for second among defensemen with 27 points (4g-23a) in 34 games, so his loss will be felt.

With Barrie leaving the game on his third shift, we were able to get a look at how the Avalanche’s blueline situation might shake out with Barrie out of the lineup. Nikita Zadorov led Avs’ blueliners in both overall icetime (26:43) and power-play time (3:52). Zadorov recorded an assist with a plus-3 and five shots on goal, three hits, and three blocked shots, making the most of his opportunity for the handful of his fantasy owners out there. I’m not rushing out to add Zadorov, who has eight points in 30 games. But he is at least worth keeping an eye on.

My initial reaction was to assume that the youngster Girard would be able to step up into a greater role, but he amassed just 17 minutes of icetime total. He’s got a bright future, but 19 years of age is very very young for an NHL defenseman.

Lost in the Rinaldo kerfuffle and Barrie injury was Derek Stepan scoring two shorthanded goals in this game. In the first Yahoo fantasy hockey league I played in, I would have rejoiced. That league counted shorties (as well as game-winning goals, if you remember when that was a popular league category).  

*

Interesting article on the beginning of a possible decline by Sidney Crosby. From the article, by Larry Brooks:

Of the 29 NHL forwards who had played as least 500 minutes at five-on-five entering Saturday’s final pre-Christmas matches, just four had scored fewer than four goals at full and equal strength.

Arizona’s Max Domi had one. Kings rookie winger Alex Iafallo had two. Florida’s Aleksander Barkov had scored three.

And so had Sidney Crosby.

It’s true that Crosby, who currently sits 25th in NHL scoring, is experiencing age-related decline. But a portion of that has to be attributed to the previous two long seasons of the Penguins. He hasn’t had much time to rest.

Speaking of the Penguins, who were shut out by the Ducks on Saturday, here’s a trade rumor involving Kris Letang mentioned on the Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada.

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Earlier this week I received a message from a friend asking me at what point I would cut Justin Faulk, because he was about to do exactly that. As a Faulk owner in a deeper league, I’m glad I didn’t take a sip of his Kool-Aid. Faulk scored two goals on seven shots on goal in the Hurricanes’ 4-2 win over Buffalo. However, anyone who has been thinking about dropping Faulk recently has been justified in asking the question. Faulk now has points in two games, but before that he hadn’t recorded a point in 12 games.

In pure points leagues, Faulk barely appears rosterable with just 10 points in 35 games. Faulk has at least 15 goals during each of his last three seasons, but entered this game with only one goal. Faulk is only down slightly in terms of shots taken, so the fact that his shooting percentage is only 3 percent this season when it has been around 7-8 percent is significant. If you can get Faulk for very cheap, I say do it, particularly in multicategory leagues. This Geek of the Week is over a year old, but it explains well what you are getting in Faulk.

One other Hurricanes’ note: Cam Ward started again, allowing two goals on 22 shots. With Scott Darling struggling mightily, Ward has now started back-to-back games and four of the last six games. Over that stretch he has a 2.18 GAA and .922 SV%, better than what you’d expect from Ward (and what Ward’s season numbers really are). He’s owned in only 10 percent of Yahoo leagues.

*

James Reimer stopped all 38 shots he faced in shutting out the Senators on Saturday. With Roberto Luongo injured, Reimer has now started nine consecutive games. Reimer’s overall season numbers (3.15 GAA, .908 SV%) might look unattractive, but over his last seven games he has allowed just 14 goals with a .946 save percentage. He’s still unowned in about three-quarters of Yahoo leagues, so he’s another name to look for if you need goaltending help.

*

The Blues’ top forwards have struggled with Jaden Schwartz out of the lineup, having scored just six goals in the past six games entering Saturday’s game. Vladimir Tarasenko ended a three-game point drought with an assist on an empty-net goal from Alexander Steen, who scored his first goal in 18 games. A sniper who normally shoots in the 10-15 percent range, Steen is shooting at just 4.9 percent, which explains his lack of goals (four goals in 32 games). He could be worth buying super low on.

Brock Boeser is shaping up to be one of fantasy hockey’s top stories in 2017-18. Boeser was projected by many to reach 20 goals in his rookie season. He has managed to do that even before the Christmas break, scoring his 20th goal on Saturday. The summary of pretty much every Canucks games recently: “The Canucks lost, but Boeser scores.” If you bought on Boeser early on, congratulations. You now have a top-5 NHL goal scorer. Not rookie goal scorer. NHL goal scorer.

Here’s Boeser’s first 19 goals:  

The @CBCSports montage of all of Boeser's 19 goals this season#Canucks pic.twitter.com/xNErKJJOt1

— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) December 24, 2017

And here’s goal number 20:  

We have another #BrockBoesMonster sighting pic.twitter.com/EWwOtRUWtP

— Stephen Laidlaw (@SteveLaidlaw) December 24, 2017

A 21 percent shooting rate is high for most players. But Boeser’s ability to find position and fire his wrist shot with great accuracy should mean that his goal rate may not regress much. Boeser is already on pace to be a 40-goal scorer in an era where 40 goals is the new 50 goals.

One other Canucks’ note: Don’t start Jacob Markstrom right now. He lets in way too many soft goals. I'm not even going to bother to back that point up with statistics. 

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The scary part about the success of the Vegas Golden Knights: They’ve done it for most of the season without their showcase player, Marc-Andre Fleury. He stopped all 26 Capitals’ shots he faced in earning his first shutout as a Knight. He’s reeled off three consecutive victories. Yes, he’s worth starting in all leagues.

In a night in which fantasy owners were gifted with plenty of shutouts, Andrei Vasilevskiy, John Gibson, and Martin Jones also earned goose eggs. Hopefully you didn’t load up on players from Minnesota, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Washington, or Los Angeles. All of those teams were shut out on Saturday.  

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Finally, I’d like to take the time to wish all Dobber Hockey visitors a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy yourselves during this three-day break from hockey, and remember to do it safely. In the meantime, feel free to air your fantasy hockey grievances below.

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For more fantasy hockey information, follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding.

from All About Sports http://www.dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-barrie-broken-hand-mcdavid-near-miss-dec-23/