Panthers’ Brandon Montour details rushing back to Florida for birth of newborn son during Stanley Cup Final
SUNRISE — If times weren’t ever as chaotic as possible, Florida Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour’s life was thrown in a quick blender after Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in Vegas.
Following the 5-2 defeat, Montour was informed that his wife was in labor with their soon-to-be son, Kai. He immediately hopped on a red eye back to South Florida and arrived at 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning. By nightfall, he was back in Vegas.
“They didn’t think I was gonna make it (back in time to Florida),” Montour said. “I honestly didn’t sleep at all. (I) got right there to Boca and went to the delivery room and it was kind of game on from there.”
A few hours later, his wife, Riyan, gave birth to Kai. Then, Montour, 29, headed straight back to Vegas to prepare for the next day’s Game 2.
And once he returned, he was greeted joyously by his teammates and coaching staff.
“Obviously I have a family back home, but this is my family when I’m at the rink,” Montour said. We care all about what’s going on in our lives and they’re excited for me.
“Unfortunately Game 2 didn’t end the way we wanted, but we tried to have that motivation and new baby in the world to help us out.”
Now with the Panthers back home for Games 3 and 4, Montour gets to spend a little more time with his wife and newborn son rather than the mere hours the three of them were together.
“Monty is a physical specimen; he can handle fatigue,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday. “And I think it was just a good way to get getting used to being a father, or a mother for that matter.”
Radko Gudas expected to play, Eetu Luostarinen not
Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas and center Eetu Luostarinen were both absent from Panthers practice Wednesday morning, but the two of them have different statuses ahead of Game 3.
Maurice announced that Gudas is expected to be available Thursday night against the Golden Knights. Meanwhile, Luostarinen will again be held out.
“We expect the lineup to be the same options,” Maurice said.
Gudas had testing done yesterday after he was injured in the first period of Game 2 and did not return. He went to deliver a hit on Vegas’ Ivan Barbashev, but ended up on the receiving end of the collision.
Gudas was second in the league with 312 hits in the regular season and has tallied a league-high 81 hits throughout the postseason.
Luostarinen hasn’t played since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, and his omission from the lineup has been felt, particularly on the penalty kill. The Golden Knights are 4 for 11 on the power play through the first two games of the series, and they have taken advantage of numerous Panthers’ defensive breakdowns en route to their 12 goals in the series.
“He’s an important part of our penalty killing unit,” Maurice said.” And I think maybe the most missed is his real nice chemistry with (Anton) Lundell and (Sam) Reinhart.”
Golden Knights forward William Karlsson was also a non-participant in practice Wednesday, though coach Bruce Cassidy said he was “just under the weather” and is expected to be available.
Sergei Bobrovsky to start in net
Maurice also confirmed Wednesday that Sergei Bobrovsky will start in net tomorrow for the Panthers.
Bobrovksy was pulled from the net midway through Game 2 after allowing four goals in 27 minutes. According to moneypuck.com, that was a -2.62 goals saved above expected.
“I’ve got complete faith in what (Bobrovsky will) be able to do in Game 3,” Maurice said Tuesday.
Bobrovksy has started every game for the Panthers since being inserted during Game 3 of the Boston series. Since then, he was a dominant force to lead Florida to a 3-1 series comeback win versus Boston, plus a 5-game series win versus Toronto and a sweep of Carolina in the Eastern Conference finals. Game 3 will be his 16th consecutive start.
Alex Lyon, who started the first three games of the playoffs, replaced Bobrovsky in net Monday night. But he couldn’t stop the bleeding, allowing three more goals that night.