The Edmonton Oilers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights at home on Saturday, 5-1. Jack Eichel tallied three points with three assists and Brett Howden scored a goal with two assists. Evan Bouchard scored the lone goal for the Oilers.
However, that might not be the biggest story to come from Saturday’s match at Rogers Place.
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During the second period, a woman went into labor and eventually gave birth at the arena. Play-by-play broadcaster Jack Michaels revealed the news to viewers during the Oilers telecast on SportsNet.
“Breaking news: We have word that someone has gone into labor here tonight,” Michaels said on air. “There’s a baby being born on the seventh floor at Rogers Place as we speak.”
“So someone’s going to have a great story to tell,” he continued. “It would be nice to have the mother join us on ‘After Hours’ to describe what’s happened but that could be asking a bit much.”
Michaels was correct in that the new mother and child did not join the “Hockey Night in Canada” postgame show. But five games remain on Edmonton’s regular-season schedule before the NHL playoffs, so there are still opportunities for the mother to join host Scott Oake for an interview.
At the end of the show, Oake announced that he is retiring after the season. What better way would there be for him to finish his television career than to talk to a woman who gave birth at an NHL hockey game?
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Sure, there will likely be big hockey games and results to talk about on the verge of the Stanley Cup playoffs. But this is a story that could grip a nation. (Two nations, if the interview is seen in the United States.) There are so many details to be revealed.
Was the baby an early arrival? Who helped with the delivery? Was the father on hand? (Is there a father in the picture? Maybe it’s best not to go there…)
Did this happen in a suite? (Probably not, on the seventh floor.) In a row of seats? Somewhere in the concourse? Even with elevators and escalators, whose idea was it to make a pregnant woman go up seven floors? Or is that an indication of how serious a hockey fan she is? Is she even a hockey fan?
In an eventful night at Rogers Place, a fan was also hit by a puck in the stands, according to On3. (He was apparently all right, trying to fire up his fellow fans and pumping his arm as he left the seating area.) There was also a fight at the end of the game, but the scuffle was broken up quickly.
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The Golden Knights are 3-0 since firing head coach Bruce Cassidy and replacing him with veteran coach John Tortorella. Vegas (seventh in the Western Conference standings) could face the Oilers in the second round of the playoffs if both teams win their first-round series.
If a certain new mother is up for it, wouldn’t she be a great candidate to drop the ceremonial puck before one of those games in Edmonton?
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