'NHL Revealed' Part 2 focuses on stars' families

Family time stole the show yet again.

Part 2 of "NHL Revealed: A Season Like No Other" featured the energetic kids of Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown, Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler's important 10 minutes of FaceTime with his three children, New York Islanders right wing Kyle Okposo's thoughts on fatherhood, Anaheim Ducks defenseman Ben Lovejoy skating with his newborn daughter, Lila, and the inaugural skate for Ryder Getzlaf, Ryan's young son.

The series is designed to take viewers inside the lives of the players participating in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series and the 2014 Sochi Olympics. There was no better look than in the opening scene, when the Brown boys -- Jake, Mason and Cooper -- took over the screen.

"Pretty good birth control for all the single guys," Nicole Brown, Dustin's wife, says as she's getting the boys ready to skate at the Kings' practice facility, Toyota Sports Center, in El Segundo, Calif.

However, before they got to El Segundo, the cameras were welcomed into the Brown home and captured a telling give-and-take scene between Dustin and Nicole as they talked about trying to weigh his hockey life with their family life with their four kids, including baby Mackenzie.

Brown was yawning because he was exhausted from a loss the previous night at the Columbus Blue Jackets followed by a late-night flight home. Nicole was having none of it.

"I think it's funny sometimes when I hear him complain, and I'm like, 'Yeah, it must be tough to be on the road and stay in five-star hotels, go out to dinner each night and play a hockey game," Nicole says, laughing.

To that, Dustin responds: "She wants the best of both worlds. She wants me to be a hockey player and not have any responsibilities and be able to stay at home all day."

Nicole laughs.

"You try going on a five-game losing streak and see how fun it is," Dustin says.

After showing some footage of Anaheim's 2-1 win against the Kings last Thursday, a prelude to their outdoor game at Dodger Stadium two nights later, the scene switches to Edmonton, where the Canucks are on the bus on the way to their hotel.

The players are joking about Roberto Luongo's newest tweet from his Twitter account @Strombone1. It reads, "#FreeTorts," and it's in response to coach John Tortorella's 15-day suspension for his altercation between periods in a game against the Calgary Flames.

Once the team arrives at the hotel, Kesler settles into his room, flips open his computer and begins video-conferencing with his three kids. He spends 10 minutes talking to Makayla, Ryker and Kinsley.

"It felt like I was right in the living room with them; now I feel so far away," Kesler says after the computer closes. "At least I had 10 minutes of their day today that they got to see me."

Kesler says his mother and father were always there for him, and they never left home. His life, of course, is quite different. He's on the road a lot, so the invention of FaceTime has been so key to his everyday life.

"For me to be able to FaceTime them and get into the chaos that goes on at home, it's awesome," Kesler says. "I love those three little kids, and I wouldn't change it for the world."

The show then moves to New York City, where the Islanders and New York Rangers took center stage Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, and viewers have a chance to get reacquainted with Okposo after being with him for the birth of his child, Elliana, in the previous episode.

Okposo and the Islanders are at Madison Square Garden to play the Rangers, a prelude to their outdoor game. Since he's back in New York, he gets to spend some time with his wife and baby, something he couldn't do right after she was born. Okposo had to go on the road with the Islanders for two weeks and six games in Toronto, Denver, Dallas, Sunrise, Fla., Tampa and Philadelphia.

"It was pretty amazing when you get to hold your child in your arms after coming home from a road trip," Okposo says. "It was pretty special."

It also requires a new sleep schedule.

"She's going to keep her downstairs … and I'll try to get some sleep, but as night I'm trying to help out as much as I can," Okposo says.

In Southern California, where the Ducks and Kings are preparing to play at Dodger Stadium, the families got their chance to skate on the makeshift rink Friday. That's where Ryder Getzlaf got on skates for the first time and Lovejoy brought his newborn onto the ice, carrying her around as he skated with his wife.

The scene then shifts east to Yankee Stadium, where the New Jersey Devils and Rangers were also enjoying a family skate on a frigid Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.

"I'm not built for this weather," Devils forward Jaromir Jagr jokes during practice. "I'm all about the sun."

Prior to practice, Devils goalie Martin Brodeur mentions that he hasn't played any hockey outside in a quarter-century.

"I'm sure this is going to be a little different," Brodeur said. "The body doesn't hold up as much."

A day later, Brodeur was pulled after giving up six goals in 40 minutes during a 7-3 loss to the Rangers.

A return to Chavez Ravine shows Wayne Gretzky meeting Kings assistant coach Davis Payne and half-swinging a baseball bat by the Dodgers/Kings clubhouse.

"The atmosphere here is like an NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 7," Gretzky says.

The Ducks won 3-0. Jonas Hiller was the player of the game with 36 saves.

"It was so cool coming out, we felt like rock stars," Lovejoy says. "We're simple hockey players, but for one night that was so cool."

Fatherhood couldn't escape Brown after the game. As soon as he left the clubhouse, there was Nicole pointing at Jake, Mason and Cooper as they were running around near a trophy case.

"Your kids are out of control right now," Nicole says.

It's up to the Kings captain to help get them out of Dodger Stadium so they can get home and into bed.

"It definitely changes how you look at life," Brown says earlier in the show. "You kind of realize that there are bigger things in life than losing a hockey game."

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