DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall would love a good night of sleep after the day he had Thursday. He might not get it for quite a while.
Kronwall's girlfriend gave birth to the couple's first child, a son named Douglas, at 11:31 a.m. ET, or shortly after the Red Wings morning skate at Joe Louis Arena, a practice that Kronwall participated in.
"Rushed out of here, got there just in time to be there," Kronwall said after Detroit's 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round series. "And then just holding your son for the first time, it's a pretty special feeling."
Kronwall was back at Joe Louis Arena to play against the Bruins. He scored with a goal 11 minutes into the first period and had an assist on Pavel Datsyuk's goal at 4:27 of the second.
The only negative in the day happened late, when the Red Wings blew a 2-0 lead and lost in overtime. But even that couldn't stop Kronwall from smiling when he was asked to describe his whirlwind, emotional day.
"Obviously it was a big day for me, a big day for me and my girl," Kronwall said. "It's something I'll never forget for sure."
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