Six Nations' Brandon Montour flew home for son's birth between playoff games
Scoring the opening goal of game three of the Stanley Cup finals wasn’t the only celebration Florida Panthers defenceman Brandon Montour was a part of this week.
The NHL player, originally from Six Nations of the Grand River, also celebrated the birth of his son, Kai, between games one and two of the series final against the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
An Instagram post on Thursday from the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) shows a photo of Montour holding his son.
“I tried to get there as quick as I could, but luckily I was there for it all and got to experience it with her,” Montour described his reunion with wife Ryian in the NHPLA post.
According to an article on NHL.com, Montour hopped on a private jet, leaving Las Vegas at 11 p.m. and landing in Florida around 6:30 a.m.
Once on the ground, he went right to the hospital in Boca Raton, where he met with his wife who was still in labour, according to the article – before hopping onto another plane, and flying to Vegas with only hours to spare before game two.
"Got right there to Boca, went ot the delivery room, and it was kind of game on from there," Montour said during a post game press conference. "I was there at 6:30, and we were joking that as soon as I got there it was straight to work for her, not me.
"I tried to get there as quickly as I could. Luckily I was there for it all and got to experience it with her."
Down by two games in the series, Montour opened up game three with a goal in the first five minutes of the first period.
Carter Verhaeghe scored the overtime winner for Florida to give them the 3-2 victory. They're now down two games to one in the best-of-seven series.
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