Brett Kulak didn’t get his common pre-game routine in on Monday.
As an alternative of skating along with his teammates forward of Recreation 1 in opposition to the Los Angeles Kings, the Edmonton Oilers defenceman was on a flight after briefly returning dwelling for the start of his second daughter, Scotlyn, on Sunday afternoon.
The plan had lengthy been for Kulak’s spouse, Caitlin, to have a C-section early on Monday morning, however well being care employees on the hospital in Canmore, Alta., heard the household might need a scheduling battle.
“They known as on Saturday night and had been like ‘Hey, we see your husband and the Oilers are taking part in on Monday. We are able to squeeze you in tomorrow afternoon. And so it ended up being Sunday afternoon,’” Kulak mentioned.
The veteran blueliner practised with the Oilers in San Jose on Saturday. Then, as the remainder of the workforce then travelled to L.A. to settle in forward of Edmonton’s first-round matchup with the Kings, Kulak flew from San Francisco to Calgary on Sunday morning. His mother met him there and so they drove to the household’s low season dwelling in Canmore.
Quickly after, Kulak and his spouse headed to the native hospital, and met their new child daughter about two hours later.
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He spent the night along with his newly expanded household, then boarded a flight again to California on Monday morning and rejoined the workforce earlier than puck drop.
“Everybody’s doing rather well. So I’m grateful for that,” mentioned Kulak, who performed 24 minutes and 58 seconds in Edmonton’s 6-5 loss.
“It’s all you’ll be able to hope for, clearly. It simply makes you cheerful and simply grateful. And everybody’s wholesome. And it offers me a greater peace of thoughts understanding I’ve to go away, however they’re all feeling good.”
This isn’t the primary time Kulak has stepped away from his workforce for a start within the midst of a playoff run.
His first daughter, Ryleigh, got here on Could 13, 2022, between Video games 6 and seven of the Oilers’ first-round collection in opposition to the Kings.
Kulak credit his mother and his mother-in-law with serving to his household out and permitting him to focus on taking part in.
“It undoubtedly helps that I can simply go give attention to hockey. And my spouse’s been nice, too,” he mentioned. “She’s like, ‘You don’t fear about us. We’re going to be simply fantastic. You go, we’re tremendous pleased with you. So that you go do what you should do for the workforce.’”
Kulak and the Oilers will probably be again in Edmonton for Recreation 3 on Friday.
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