Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo had quite the day during Game 1 of the second-round series against the Florida Panthers.
He became a dad to a son around 3 in the morning, flew to Florida and scored a goal in the Bruins’ 5-1 victory on Monday.
Carlo missed the team’s Monday morning skate in Sunrise, Florida, because of the birth of son Crew, days after he had assisted on David Pastrnak’s overtime goal as the Bruins knocked off the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7. It was the second child for Carlo and his wife, Mayson.
The team said it was holding out hope that Carlo would make it to Amerant Bank Arena in time for the 8 p.m. ET start.
He did. The Bruins social media account showed him arriving about two hours before the game and receiving hugs and congratulations from his fellow players and coach Jim Montgomery.
Carlo, 27, gave teammates more reasons to hug him when he scored with 21 seconds left in the second period. He wristed a shot past a screened Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for a 3-1 lead. It banked off the crossbar and in.
“I’m so proud of her,” Carlo said to ESPN about his wife. “Bringing that little boy into the world was a super special thing for me and to score tonight for him is something I’ll remember forever.”
The Bruins and Panthers are meeting in the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Panthers stunned the record-setting Bruins by coming back from a 3-1 series deficit and winning in Game 7 in overtime.
Florlda’s Matthew Tkachuk, who had 11 points in last year’s series, opened the scoring Monday, but the Bruins responded with goals by Morgan Geekie, Mason Lohrei, Carlo, Justin Brazeau and Jake DeBrusk. Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman made 38 saves.
Carlo skated nearly 19 minutes in the game as Boston beat Florida for the fifth time this season.
“A pretty busy night, didn’t know if I was going to make it in time, but sure happy I did,” he said.
Game 2 will be Wednesday night in Florida.
Tuesday’s games
Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers, 7, ESPN. Rangers lead series 1-0
Colorado Avalanche at Dallas Stars, 9:30, ESPN. First game of the series
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
