Six

Winning the Stanley Cup twice in three years puts a lot of pressure on a team. It also places a huge amount of pressure on said team’s goalie. As an NHL goalie though, that pressure is something you start to learn to live with.

When the team with two cups is in a funk, the fanbase and media all look for someone to blame. The blame, most of the time, falls onto the shoulders of the goalie. Corey Crawford just wishes they directed it somewhere else when the team gets shut out and loses by one. It is most definitely NOT the goalie fault when his team can't score one goal.

The worst was that the leading goal scorer was saying how everyone needs to step up their game. How everyone needs to play a little better. How the goalie, no matter who he is, should be able to play the game to the highest level.

Never once did he mention the fact the couldn't score one goal, or the fact the have to shoot more. Not once did he bring up the fact the team was in the penalty box every five minutes. That's what annoyed Corey the most.

Not that Corey would ever say these things.

“You OK Crow?” Patrick Kane asked once the media was gone.
“Sure, you know, it would be nice to win some games. So, you know, we actually make the playoffs.” Corey didn't mean for it to come out as snarky as it did, but he was pretty upset.
“Don't worry, we'll make it.”
“Are you sure though?”
“Yes I'm sure. Listen Crow, just because you gave one bad game-”
“Let me stop you right there. It would be nice if you guys could score a goal.”

Corey left before things got out of hand and he did or said something he would regret. He didn't have any plans for after the game besides sleep and try to forget the fame ever happened. So Corey didn't think twice when he walked passed the dot where his car should be.

Hell, he didn't even notice it was gone.

Somehow Corey found himself in a place he had never seen before, but it was not Chicago. Corey had lived there long enough to have the buildings memorized. The place he was now seemed older and more worn down.

It just didn’t make any sense how he ended up in this run down town after being in the heart of Chicago. The last time Corey checked there wasn’t a park in the middle of downtown Chicago either.

There also should be more people out on the street. The only people Corey saw were three people up ahead. The weird part about the whole thing was the fact the people up ahead look like people he’s seen before.

Those people looked really familiar to Corey. The person closest to him looked a lot like Tuukka Rask and Corey was positive he could hear Carey Price’s voice. His suspicions were confirmed when the third person noticed him.

“Crawford?”
“Bernier?”
“Yup, with Rask and Price.”
“What are you doing here? Where is ‘here’ anyway?”
“Toronto,” Tuukka spoke up.
“Very funny,” Corey laughed.
“He’s not joking,” Carey said.

“What the -”

Notes