Since Pavel Datsyuk's moment outside, Vladdy Namestnikov, Evelyna and Victor Hedman have hurried back in to notify the others of the incident and that they suspect Pavel of kidnapping Ondrej Palat. With little to go on and the start of the game in twenty minutes now, they realize that they will have to get the game done first and then go search for Ondrej, Dani and Yzerchuk.

And sure enough, before long, the puck drops for the game with the Lightning bench worked up in worry over the non-presence of their Czech player, Ondrej Palat. Vladdy nervously glances around him on the Lightning bench and looks to where Nikita Kucherov is in tears beside Tyler Johnson.

"I can no play with no Pally! WHERE PALLY??" Nikita wails, covering his face with his ungloved hands as TJ hugs him closely and pats him on the shoulder in comfort. "I no wanna play with no Pally!"

"But Kuch, you have to play. We need you. Pally, wherever he is, would want you to get ahold of yourself and go out there on the ice and score goals!" TJ whispers.

"If he's even still alive that is..." Ryan Callahan leans over and remarks.

Nikita squeaks. "No! Pally still alive! Pally still alive!"

"If your mom is still alive!" Jonathan Drouin leans over and hisses to Callahan, who frowns and then reaches over and smacks the back of Drouin's head. The younger forward shakes his head and glares at Callahan, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Not helping, Cally," TJ growls, shoving the ex-Ranger forward away.

Galchenyuk skates over for a line change and hops into the bench. He smiles kindly at Nikita. "Have faith that we'll find Pally after this game. Let's get out there and tear these jerks a new one and get the win for Pally, Stammer and Stralsy! Then we can go find Pally, who I'm sure is very much still alive."

Vladdy winks at the ex-Hab and nods, before jumping onto the ice with Drouin, who's recovered from Callahan's assault on his head and Jonathan Marchessault.

Nikita wipes his eyes and finally breaks a smile. "You right. I get goal for Pally!" He jumps to his feet. "FOR PALLY!"

Abdelkader crunches Vladdy into the boards in front of him and he jumps and yelps in fright and falls backward over the bench. TJ, Galchenyuk and the coaches all attempt to grab him, but he lands on the ground, getting awkwardly stuck behind the bench. The Red Wing laughs, amused at the sight. "Stupid Russian, I'm coming for you next! As soon as you step on the ice, consider yourself marked!"

Nikita is helped back onto the bench as Vladdy shoves Abdelkader back, only to be overpowered and flung hard to the ice. Drouin and Marchessault skate over and prevent Abdelkader from going at Vladdy anymore, who attempts to get to his skates but screams in agony, which finally alerts all the refs on the ice.

The play is then halted as Drouin and Marchessault shove and cross-check the Red Wing goon back, away from Vladdy and the bench. Nikita, TJ and the rest of the Bolts bench gets up, gasping in shock as Vladdy grabs his leg, where blood is soaking his socks.

"Someone help him off the ice and into the bench!" Galchenyuk snaps.

The medical staff helps him to his feet, where Nesterov and Sustr help aid him into the bench. Vladdy grunts his frustration and pain as he sits down and checks out his wound. He cusses. "I'm okay. I just need a second. I need Yzerchuk! I don't know why, but...I've never felt this pain before! God!"

A few heartbeats pass before Vladdy recovers from the hit and is back out on the ice. The blood is gone and there's no hint of the horrible injury that had once been there. He dodges hits and creates offense for his team.

But TJ cocks his head in wonder. Without Yzerchuk, how had Vladdy managed to heal so fast from an injury that should be FAR worse? He finds himself on the ice with Victor Hedman, Nikita Nesterov, Alex Killorn and Nikita, who is determined and in his serious (non-baby) game mode self.

Killorn rolls his eyes, finding himself to be the one facing off against Abdelkader. Detroit had all their "action" players out on the ice: Abdelkader, Kronwall, Dekeyser, Brad Richards, and Nyquist.

TJ and Richards glare at one another and TJ wins the puck back to Victor, before Richards lunges forward and sends him to the ice with a cross-check. TJ blinks and then realizes what is going on. He snaps his head to the side to see Nikita get the puck and take it into the neutral zone with dazzling speed and skills.

"KUCH!! LOOK OUT!!" TJ screams as he gets to his feet.

Nikita spots Abdelkader barrelling toward him. He skids to a halt with the puck and lets Abdelkader slam into the boards, completely missing him. "No today! Must score for Pally!" He then smiles and carries on, taking a shot and scoring!

TJ breathes in relief and joins the happy Nikita, Victor, Nesterov and Killorn for a celebration. Abdelkader recovers from his failed check and skates over to them, angrily, blocking Nikita's path. Killorn and TJ skate beside him though.

"You're a real pain in the ass aren't ya Russian? Keep your head up, cause I WILL hit you! I'm gonna flay you out! You, Vladdy, TJ, all the Bolts!" Abdelkader snarls, before he turns and skates off with a grunt.

The Lightning players make it to the bench, where they fist bump their friends and then take a seat as the crowd roars on.

The game continues and the first period comes to an end. No sooner did the first end, the second period starts up and gets underway. The Red Wings come out strong and dominate most of the second period. Two goals are scored by Mike Green and then Justin Abdelkader, who mocks the Tampa bench.

As he skates by, he grabs Vladdy's arm and twirls him around, snickering, "I scored a goal before you! Where's your precious offensive powers Pretty Boy?"

"Let go of me, Abdelkader!" Vladdy snaps, yanking his arm free as Abdelkader continues to skate off. He frowns and picks up his glove that had been knocked off from the bizarre dance with the Red Wing goon.

"We gotta get that one back," Drouin whispers.

Vladdy jams his hand back into the glove. "Yeah. God, that jackass!" He skates to the bench, toward Brian Boyle and leans over. "Light that jerk up!"

Boyle nods. "Can do, Vladdy."

Vladdy enters the bench with Drouin at his side. Cooper shuffles the lines up and sends TJ, Nikita and Galchenyuk on. TJ wins the draw and get Nikita the puck. The Russian takes it toward the boards and passes it, readying himself for the charging, mad Red Wing goon. He is crunched against the boards by Abdelkader, who pins him in place.

"I'm going to let Pally see this moment and relish it forever!" Abdelkader snarls as Nikita pushes against him.

"GET OFF! TJ!!" Nikita screams as Abdelkader slewfoots Nikita and slams his head against the boards.

"Let them give me a penalty! This is what happens when you part the Russian from the Czech Republic!" Abdelkader laughs and raises his stick up. "I'm gonna hurt you Kucherov! I hope you're watching this Pally!"

"NO!" Nikita screams and covers his head.

TJ races for the bench and hops in, sending Boyle onto the ice. Galchenyuk turns and makes a beeline for the Red Wing goon. Boyle skates hard as well and slams into Abdelkader, as he swings the stick down toward Nikita. Boyle sends Abdelkader slamming into the boards and his stick flying from his hands.

"Don't you dare!" Boyle growls, snorting. "If you want a fight, drop the gloves and let's go! Otherwise stay the hell away from our star players you asshole!"

Galchenyuk drops down to the shaking Nikita and begins to comfort him. "There, there, you're okay. We got you Kuch."

Boyle turns and helps out, softening at once. "You okay Kuch?"

Nikita bites his lip and nods. "Think so."

"Come on," Galchenyuk says as he and Boyle aid Nikita to his skates.

"He said Pally is watching..." Nikita whispers as he continues to shake with fear. "Pally..." He bites his lip and sniffles.

"Come on Kuch, you can sit with Johnny and I and watch Boyler handle Abdelkader!" Galchenyuk whispers. "You like that?"

Nikita nods and chokes back on the tears and smiles. He recovers on the bench, comforted by TJ, who's taken over Ondrej's role as the "comforting babysitter." Vladdy sits on the other side of Galchenyuk with Drouin.

Meanwhile the play on the ice gets under way once more with Boyle, Callahan and Filppula on. Boyle squares off with Abdelkader, who has shockingly not been tossed from the game yet, because this is a drama story and he can't! With a ton of hitting, there's a line change with the fourth lines heading out onto the ice.

Boyle sits down between Drouin and Callahan. No more than two minutes pass by before Drouin wrinkles his nose up in disgust. "Gross man, who let one rip? Boyle, Cally?"

"Drouin!" Boyle growls loudly in a scolding way. "That's nasty child!"

"It wasn't me!" Drouin insists. "You always do this and I think it's you!"

"I think it was you!" Callahan adds, leaning over across Boyle toward Drouin.

Vladdy stifles his laughter to the other side of Drouin and focuses on Nikita, who is slowly stopping in his shaking and returning to a calm state with the help of soft words from TJ and Galchenyuk.

"Ugh! It was your mom!" Drouin grumbles to himself.

Boyle turns to him and shakes his head, maintaining a serious look on his face. "My mother's not here, nor does she pass gas in a public place, Jo. Seriously man, not cool. Just quit it okay?"

Drouin looks up at the ceiling and sighs, mumbling to himself. "I need to get out of here!"

Vladdy taps him and takes to the ice with Drouin and Marchessault flanking him on either side. They spark some offense before changing with Nikita, TJ and Galchenyuk. Nikita cracks his neck, once again poised in his game mode.

"Remember, shoot the puck at the net, Kuch. Get it in there, for Pally," TJ whispers before skating to the center.

He wins it again and the Bolts zoom up the ice, dodging Red Wings. Nikita spots the all-too-familiar face of Abdelkader lining him up for another hit. He focus on the puck, dishing it to an open Galchenyuk, who gets it to TJ. Nikita, meanwhile, presses into his skating and propels himself forward, so that Abdelkader smashes into the boards behind him, missing him a second time.

"Would you stop that Russian?!" Abdelkader snarls, shaking off the hit.

Nikita pauses and spins around, smiling. "You stop try hitting me! Oh, and no threaten Pally! After game, we gonna find him and then he gonna kick your ass with Boyler!" He then whips back around and launches for the net. He gets the puck at the goalie and is stopped, but a rebound comes out to him and he buries it on the second chance.

"YEAH!" Nikita screams. "I TIE GAME UP FOR PALLY!" He bounces up and down and claps his hands like a little kid as TJ and Galchenyuk join him for the celebration hug.

As they head back to the bench, Abdelkader once again steps into their pathway. "I figure, now's the best time to tell you miserable shits! I KIDNAPPED PALLY! That's right. Kronwall and I attacked him in the parking lot and we dragged him to where we're keeping Yzerchuk and that girl! Carle was right about you all, you're weak and nothing without that stupid magical hockey stick!"

Nikita stomps his skate on the ice and screams, dragging everyone's attentions to the ice where they are. "YOU TAKED PALLY!" He dives forward and tackles Abdelkader. "No like you! No like your stupid, ugly face!" He begins to attempt to fight, but Abdelkader flips him over and pins him to the ice and begins to beat him with punches.

TJ and Killorn rush forward and grab Abdelkader's arms and pull him back. The refs soon join and Abdelkader is dragged away from the bleeding Nikita, who scrambles to his feet unharmed but bloody.

"I no like you Abdelkader! Let Pally go!" Nikita shouts.

"Come and get him Russian!" Abdelkader snaps as he is forced into the bench. "You'll never find him! Just like you'll never win this game or series!"

Nikita screams again and stomps his skate, throwing a temper tantrum.

Meanwhile, on the bench, Vladdy jumps to his skates and looks at the bench, overhearing Nikita. "I KNEW IT! Pavel Datsyuk you asshole!"

Pavel gets to his feet. "Pally was a minor inconvenience!"

"YOUR MOM IS A MINOR INCONVENIENCE! YOU KIDNAPPED ONE OF OUR TEAMMATES, PAVEL!!" Drouin roars, jumping up behind Vladdy and putting a hand on the blond's shoulder. "That's not cool!"

"You're not cool Drouin!" Brendan Smith snaps, jumping up and joining Pavel.

"Your MOM'S NOT COOL!" Drouin retorts.

On the ice, TJ is suddenly grabbed by Kronwall around the neck. Galchenyuk instantly hugs Nikita, protecting him and rushes to the bench. Boyle, Paquette, Victor and Callahan tense up in the bench.

The Red Wing snarls, "You'll never guess how all this started, Small Fry." TJ struggles, pushing at Kronwall's strong arm. "You see, Pavel's best friends with someone you Bolts know too well, Gallagher. Pavel heard about what you all have been doing to his precious friend's team and then you traded a revenge-seeking, bloodthirsty defenseman named Matt Carle."

Pavel summarizes, "Basically, you all can thank Carle for informing us about Yzerchuk and about everything."

"Actually," Abdelkader sneers. "Carle's the one who is behind everything! He gave us the information, picked out the lair spot, told us to kidnap Pally and expose little baby Russian and Pretty Boy! He knows Kuch - really the Triplets - and Vladdy run the Tampa offense! So isolating the variable, Detroit is able to win!"

"It's unfortunate that you can't find Pally though and probably won't in time for the end of the game! We left him someplace very dark to watch us manhandle you all," Pavel continue to sneer. "Also, Carle's watching him. If he can even break the ropes binding him...Carle's right there to stop him from getting anywhere! But knowing the Czech player, he probably can't break out."

"I don't believe you!" Drouin snaps.

Pavel and Kronwall look to Abdelkader. TJ freezes in the grip of Kronwall, momentarily stopping in his struggle as Abdelkader, standing by Pavel, pulls his phone out and dials Carle's number. "Hey Carle, got a couple of non-believers here...have Pally say hi to his teammates!" He thrusts the phone out, tapping the speaker button on the screen.

Instantly a hush falls in the arena as Pavel's microphone amplifies the phone speaker and Pally's muffled grunt echoes out. Drouin gasps and looks down.

Vladdy skates forward, exiting the bench. "Let him go, Carle!"

"See I would Vladislav, but you and I both know that's not how this is gonna go," Carle's voice speaks from the phone now. "How it's gonna go, is you're gonna come alone to the Marriott Hotel! Krons, Abby, Pavel and Smitty are all gonna make sure that happens. If you don't come alone, I'll kill the Czech player and the girl and you'll never see Yzerchuk again!"

Vladdy looks around the arena, unsure how to respond or what to say.

"Dekeyser is going to handle driving you here," Carle continues on. "Look you all may have tied the game and who knows if you would've 'won it for Palat or Stamkos or Stralman'...but you come alone to the Marriott with Dekeyser or else?" There's a gun click and a heart-wrenching muffled scream that follows that causes Galchenyuk to cover the already stunned and horrified Nikita's ears. "I'll see you soon Vladislav Namestnikov!"