In Detroit the day after Boston’s game, Shane hears from teammates Gilbert Comeau and J.J. that Ilya Rozanov didn’t travel with Boston to Nashville. Shane texts Ilya with no reply, plays distractedly, then searches online and finds only vague reporting about “undisclosed reasons,” which worries him even more.

After the game Shane calls Ilya for the first time. Ilya answers and bluntly reveals he is in Moscow because his father has died. Ilya says the media is saying nothing and insists he will return by the end of the week; Shane urges him to take time and offers to listen. Before hanging up, Ilya admits Shane already helped by calling.

Two days later in Buffalo, Ilya (texting under “Lily”) asks if Shane is alone and then calls. Ilya says he feels awful and unwanted by his family, valued mainly because he is paying for everything. Shane encourages him to talk, and suggests Ilya say everything in Russian if it helps; Ilya pours out an emotional rant in rapid Russian. Afterward they shift into flirtation, and Shane admits he wishes Ilya were there; Ilya quietly says he feels the same.

From Ilya’s perspective in Moscow, he briefly panics that Shane might translate the Russian call, because Ilya not only complained about his family and his need for his father’s approval, but also said he is in love with Shane and doesn’t know what to do. Saying it aloud makes Ilya feel lighter, and Ilya acknowledges that Shane has become the person he turns to—his friend—before Ilya heads back toward his father’s house with the funeral looming.

After the funeral, Shane calls Ilya again from Montreal. Ilya, drunk and exhausted, keeps Shane talking by asking him to describe his apartment and bedroom, and Shane mentions donating to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada in Ilya’s father’s honor. Their conversation turns to what hockey has meant to them, and Ilya admits he doesn’t want to come back to Russia and wants citizenship elsewhere.

Ilya jokes about marriage for immigration and mentions a sensible Russian-American woman in Boston, Svetlana, as a possible practical spouse, stressing he doesn’t love her. Impulsively, Shane invites Ilya to come to Shane’s private Ontario cottage that summer instead of returning to Russia; Ilya says he will think about it. After they hang up, Shane realizes how much he wants more than secret sex with Ilya—comfort, everyday intimacy, and a real relationship—and it terrifies him.