Angels of Long Island | Mathew Barzal

~29~

It's now early December and the Islanders have been on a 5 game win-streak. Mat's still been lighting it up. He's really proving that his rookie year wasn't just a lucky shot.

I'm sitting in the Barclay's Center, the other arena the boys play at this year. The girls are all sitting around me, wearing their boyfriend or husband's jersey. We're currently playing the Boston Bruins; and we're winning.

Mat and I have been really good. Spending as much time as possible together between road games. When he's away, I hang out with the Islanders WAGS. It's weird to say I'm included in the wives and girlfriends category now, but when Mat's gone, it's nice to be with other girls who feel the same way. I'm still in winter break from school until the end of January. The timeline of our relationship has felt like a whirlwind. We met in October, hung out for those few weeks, and just a few weeks ago, we got home from the road trip to Canada. That was late November. Now it's December. 

I watch as Mat gets possession of the puck, making his way to the Bruins net. It's a two on one with him, Torey Krug and Brad Marchand. Suddenly, Krug sticks his stick between Mat's skates just as he's about to crash the net and potentially score. It was a small move that didn't really look like a trip, but sent Mat crashing into the boards shoulder first nonetheless. The ref's whistle blows, signaling Krug's penalty. The whole arena gasps, most standing on their feet, including me, to make sure he got up. When he did, no one needed to be on the ice to know his eyes were filled with fury. Krug was skating by as Mat stands and cross checks Torey in the neck, earning him a penalty and starting a mess behind the net. Krug fights back, shoving Mat back just as his line mates came to defend him. The refs quickly get between Torey and Mat, pulling Mat away and sending Torey to the box for tripping but not before Mat screamed in his face "Fuck off!" 

I roll my eyes at his temper and the fact that now he gets another 2 minutes added to his record. I sigh, mentally though, at the fact that he's ok. His thick shoulder pads definitely saved his bones. From then on, the whole game was chippy. Both teams taking cheap shots at each other. Dumb penalties were dished out but we ended up winning.

The girls and I wait for our boys in our usual spot, a conference room down the hall from the locker room. When Mat enters, the ladies mumble their "good jobs" as he makes his way over to me. He's dressed in the suit he came in. He hugs me tightly and I whisper in his ear. "Are you ok?" He nods and pecks my lips before taking my hand. We leave the room, saying goodbye to the girls on the way out.

Once at the car, we get in and I break the silence by saying "If you're like that against the Bruins, I can only imagine what's gonna go down when you face Philly."

"You don't wanna know." He mumbles, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Whatever you do, do it legally please?" I ask.

"No goaltender interference is legal." He says.

I'm surprised he's not fuming but it brings me back to a conversation we had a while ago about leaving emotion at the rink. It definitely makes our relationship less dramatic. That doesn't mean when he sees Alex, he'll stay calm. And to be honest, if Mat is the way to get my pay back at Alex, I'm ok with it.

"I found out tonight that the all-star game is going to be in St. Louis." Mat says, making conversation. "When will we know who got picked?" I ask. "Not for a couple weeks." He says. That's been a subject we don't talk much about. We both really want for him to go, but he went last year and there's always the possibility he could get selected again. But the game against Philly is before that and if he does something dumb, he could be suspended from the all-star weekend. I think he knows that and will attempt to keep his cool.