It has been a week since your injury and you are apprehensively stretching your hand on the way to the meeting point. You feel like your apprehension is making its way to Evgeni. Hopefully the others are not as bad as you. You get the feeling that the apprehension is due to the fact that it is the first game of three in the conference finals. You sigh. At least the feeling of apprehension will be felt by the rest of the team.

"What's wrong Tiger?" Evgeni asks. It is a good thing that he can tell that you are bothered.

"Well this is a whole new experience for me. Being in the conference finals of a different league," You explain. You feel a little bad for dumping your worries but you reckon that Evgeni will understand.

"Don't worry it always stressful even for players like me and Sid," He tries his best to comfort you. It only works a little. He tried his best but you know it is hard to clear the air. After ten minutes of driving you have made it to the meeting point. The only people to beat you there are Mike, Iggy and Sidney. You can feel the nerves from them.

"Hello Mia. Can I talk to you alone please?" Mike asks.

"I think you can say what you have to say in front of the others," You try to be polite about your response. Your nerves are now amplified. Knowing Mike he is probably wanting to check on you.

"Ok since you are sure I was wondering if your finger is ok," Mike replies. At least he is not offended.

"It's much better. In fact I was able to do some stick handling without any issues yesterday," You explain. It could be worse. Two minutes later the rest of the team has arrived and the loading of all of the bags has begun. The next couple of games are must wins if you are to make it to the Stanley cup finals and Mike has made that clear. You get the feeling that you should treat it like any other game. You take the seat next to Evgeni.

"Tiger how are you really feeling?" Evgeni asks. An odd question but it shows you that he really cares however you are unsure of what he means.

"What do you mean?" You respond.

"You seem a little off," He retorts.

"It's just the idea that there is a possibility that I may win the Stanley cup in my rookie season. It's an odd thought that has been sitting in the back of my mind," You finish your tiny rant. You soon make yourself comfortable on Evgeni's shoulder. After four hours of travel you have made it to Toronto. You find it impressive that the others have become a little more relaxed. You find yourself holding Evgeni's hand while you wait for the hotel to get sorted.

"So are you feeling better?" Evgeni asks.

"I'm still feeling nervous but I should be alright now that we have arrived," You respond. It is the day after the Penguins' arrival in Toronto and you are sharing the practice rink with the Maple Leafs. The air between the two teams is a little stale. You are currently doing some drills with Iggy but you two are soon disturbed.

"Hey Jay," You greet the new arrival.

"Hello Mia. I've come to say good luck and may the best team win," Jaylyn is being sincere which feels a little odd to you.

"Same to you Jay," You reply as Jaylyn skates back to her drill with Mitch Marner.

"What was that about?" Iggy enquiries. You shrug because you couldn't begin to get the motivation of players on the other team. You get back to work on the drills. It doesn't take long for Evgeni to join you.

"Would you say you are ready for the next game Geno?" You ask as you try to get the puck to him between Iggy's legs.

"I think so," Evgeni responds. At least he seems more cheerful than he was on the way to Toronto. Thankfully Evgeni is able to get the puck from you.

"You should be a little quicker Igg," Sidney remarks as he joins you.

"Maybe I should make it more even," Iggy retorts as she gestures for Kris to join her. It has been an hour since training and everyone is gathered in the lobby for some food. You decide to eavesdrop on Mike's conversation with Evgeni and Sidney. They are in deep discussion about who goes where during the game tomorrow.

"I think we should start with Me, Mia and Evgeni first," Sidney is being insistent.

"It's just I've been doing that for the past five games," Mike retorts.

"But it hasn't failed you yet," Evgeni delivers the final blow. It doesn't take long for the food to arrive. You start to wonder about what could be going through the Toronto Maple Leafs' players' minds. The thought makes you giggle.

"What's the giggle about?" Iggy asks.

"I'm just wondering what the other team's members would be thinking," You respond.

"I'm glad that I'm not the only one wondering," Iggy's look changes from confusion to joy. The good thing is the food soon comes. You get to work on nibbling it whilst you listen to the various conversations about the conference finals. Your mind starts to wonder back to the first time you found yourself in a situation like this. You soon realise you are yearning for the support of any of your red bull Munich teammates. You finish your food. You find yourself in your room. After an hour of relaxing you can hear the tell tale signs of a mini sticks game. You poke your head out of the door.

"Careful," Evgeni calls out as the ball comes flying towards you. You duck out of the way just in case. Luckily for you Evgeni sent the ball high enough that it would've missed you anyway. Evgeni soon recovers the ball and he gets it around Matt.

"Would you like to join in Mia?" Iggy asks as she offers you a stick.

"Sure," You might as well have some fun before the big game tomorrow.