Tampa Bay Lightning
For the players and coaches involved in the games, the Stanley Cup playoffs are always a special time. For Lightning RW Brian Boyle, this year’s playoffs have become doubly special.
Boyle’s wife Lauren gave birth Tuesday night to the couple’s first child, a 9-pound, 5-ounce boy the couple named Declan Gabriel.
“I was pretty emotional when I first saw him,’’ Boyle said before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. “I guess I was petrified. After that it was just a joy to hold him and be around him.’’
Lightning owner Jeff Vinik helped make that moment happen, allowing Boyle the use of his private plane to fly back to Tampa after Game 2 on Monday night in New York.