Golden Knights, Hurricanes experiencing playoff baby boom

LAS VEGAS -- Noah Hanifin is in control of a lot right now, notably how he prepares and plays in the Stanley Cup Final.

It's what he can't control that matters most to the Vegas Golden Knights defenseman following a 5-4 win in double overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, giving Vegas a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series with Game 4 here Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC).

Hanifin is one of five Golden Knights regulars whose wives could give birth at any moment. Hanifin's wife, Monique, Mark Stone's wife, Hayley, Nic Dowd's wife, Paige, Jack Eichel's wife, Erin, and Shea Theodore's wife, Mariana, are all due to give birth this month.

"Excited," Hanifin told NHL.com. "We have an 11-month-old now, so I'm a little nervous about having two under 1, that's for sure. But no, I'm excited. With the games going on right now obviously it's close, but we'll see what happens. It's kind of out of our control."

The 2026 Stanley Cup Final is the baby boom championship round.

In addition to the five Vegas players expecting to soon become new dads or add to their families, Carolina defensemen K'Andre Miller, Sean Walker and Jalen Chatfield all had significant others give birth last month.

"Three playoff babies, and none of us had to miss games," Chatfield said. "It all worked out perfect."

Miller became a new dad on May 2, when his girlfriend, Addison, gave birth to their son, Kashton, hours before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Philadelphia Flyers. Miller played that night.

Walker's wife, Taylor, went into labor after Game 3 against the Flyers. He made it home for the birth of their daughter, Quinn, and made it back to Philadelphia for Game 4.

Miller and Walker are also defense partners.

"It's weird," Walker said on the "NHL @TheRink" podcast. "Days apart. Like, so crazy. We were both like, 'What's going on? This is crazy.' We were just hoping it wasn't going to line up on the same night. Again, what are the chances that it worked out perfectly? No one had to miss a game. Everyone was able to get where they had to be. Quite a whirlwind."

Chatfield had his second child, Rhodes, hours after Game 5 of the conference final against the Montreal Canadiens, when the Hurricanes advanced to the Cup Final.

"I was stressed out," Chatfield said. "Well, not stressed out but a little worried. I knew it was coming soon and we were playing Montreal. I was like, any day, any second, he could be coming out. I guess the timing was perfect. It was right after Game 5, 2 a.m.

“To bring in my second son and everybody be healthy and to get through it quick is just a blessing."

Chatfield said he got a police escort -- literally he was in the police car, not driving behind it -- to the hospital 20 minutes after Game 5 ended on May 29. He took the team photo with the Prince of Wales Trophy, changed and then was out the door.

"I mean, I walked in (to the hospital) and I didn't know what was going on," he said. "My adrenaline was still going; that's how quick I got there. I hopped in a police car, and he just sped me there. He put his lights on and we got there quick. I had my (conference champions) hat on, my shirt on and all I hear is the ‘beep, beep’ and she's laying in bed. I'm like, 'Whoa, this is a quick change.' I was stunned a little bit, but it was great."

At the same time as he was getting the escort to the hospital, Miller had his now-viral moment holding Kashton on the Hurricanes bench at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

"Life is real," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I think you get caught up in the game and everything, but there's more important things. It was a touching moment for sure. You catch him on camera, that stuff I think is special, but that's a personal moment for him and it's a good reminder for all of us."

Hanifin, Theodore, Eichel, Stone and Dowd are all going through the waiting, stressing, wondering and hoping, all the while maintaining their focus on the task at hand at work, which is trying to win the Stanley Cup.

"Soon, really soon," Theodore said.

He said he and his wife do not know the sex of the baby. They want to be surprised.

They have a 21-month-old son at home.

"Obviously, just really hoping that everything goes smooth, and she's feeling good," Theodore said. "It's our second. We have a little one running around already and our hands are full, but she's been amazing throughout this whole run."

Hanifin and Theodore said they've had conversations with their wives about what happens if they go into labor during a game, or if they're on the road.

"It's something we've talked about quite a bit," Hanifin said. "The good thing we have a lot of family in Vegas right now -- her parents, my parents -- so she's got a lot of company. It's obviously close, but for me right now just trying my best to compartmentalize and focus on what's at hand, and if something happens we'll kind of figure it out."

And that means?

"I have no idea yet, man," he said. "I've thought about it a little bit, but hopefully that doesn't happen. It's crazy, but it's an exciting time for sure. We're lucky to be playing this time of year and it'd be really cool, obviously, for us to get the job done and at the end of the road have our kids around for that.”