NHL Imagines

Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)

My parents had been planning a trip to Pittsburgh for a really long time and decided they wanted to tag along for tonight's game. Evgeni was usually never nervous for games, but today was definitely an exception. 

"We're so excited to finally see him play!" My mom exclaimed.

"He's really nervous that you guys are here, so if they lose tonight, please don't say anything that could make him feel bad," I pleaded, taking my seat.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," my dad chuckled "he's a hockey player for Christ's sake, a little constructive criticism wouldn't kill him,"

"That's exactly why he's nervous," I muttered, popping the cap to my beer off.

The players made their way out onto the ice for warm-ups, my eyes immediately finding Evgeni. He had his mouthguard hanging out from between his lips as he skated around. When he came to a stop, Crosby came up and playfully shoved him, knocking him off balance.

"I'll never understand why people get so engaged into a sport like this," my dad complained "just a bunch of grown men chasing around a barely-there piece of rubber and swinging their fists wherever they can until they land a hit,"

I sucked in a deep breath and sunk further into my seat. This is going to be a long game.

"Oh, (Y/D/N), leave it alone," my mom sighed "at least these people have actually found something to do with their life other than complain," 

The beer I had just sipped from the bottle came spilling from my mouth at this and I leaned forward to avoid getting it on my jersey, wiping at my chin. I kept my hand over my mouth to block the smile that had formed.

"Honey, are you alright?" My mom worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. One of the players just slipped and I thought it was funny," I lied, looking back towards the ice.

Evgeni was staring through the glass at me, arms up in confusion. I smiled and shook my head, blowing him a kiss. He winked at me and waved at my parents after the whistle blew, then went back into the locker room.

We waited for about fifteen more minutes until the anthem finally started. We stayed standing for the players to come out, cheering loudly when Evgeni's name was called for the starting lineup.

The whole game was fairly slow up until around the last two minutes. Anze Kopitar had drifted towards Evgeni during the face-off, and before the puck dropped, Evgeni's gloves were on the ice. My mom gasped when he threw a right hook straight onto Anze's nose, blood immediately coming out. Evgeni got Anze's jersey over his head and yanked him downwards, both of them falling. The refs on them right after, pulling Evgeni off and to the penalty box while Anze headed back into the locker room.

The Penguins had managed to score two more goals than the Kings, leaving a happy team and an ecstatic Matt Murray with his first shutout. We headed to the parking lot to wait for Evgeni, my dad raving about Evgeni's fight the entire time.

The back door of the arena finally opened, the players all coming out. I congratulated everyone who walked passed us until I saw Evgeni approach us. I pulled him down for a quick kiss before my mom cleared her throat.

"How are you feeling, Evgeni? What was that fight about?"

Evgeni gripped my waist tightly. "Kopitar spoke bad about wife," he spoke.

I furrowed my brows and looked up at him. "What did he say, babe?"

"Say how I did not deserve you. How you would be better off with someone else," he mumbled, pressing his lips to the top of my head.

"I couldn't see her with anyone else," my dad said sincerely, smiling at us.

Evgeni grinned and held his hand out to my dad, letting him grip it into a short handshake. "Thank you, sir,"

"You're welcome, Malkin," he laughed "now, let's talk some tickets for next game,"

Requested by russian26rangers :)