Connor McMichael had a day he’ll never forget on Wednesday. The Capitals forward found out he was soon going to be a father while playing against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 23.
“Yeah, it was pretty crazy,” McMichael told Tarik El-Bashir and John Walton on Monumental Sports Network’s Rink Report. “Obviously, I knew leading up to the game that things were getting close, and I went out there and started playing the game, and then, for some reason, in the second intermission, I felt the urge to check my phone, and I got a text from my girlfriend saying her water broke and she’s on her way to the hospital.”
McMichael scored two goals in the second period, three minutes and twelve seconds apart, right before finding out the news.
The 23-year-old decided to join his team for the third and final period but with one caveat.
“Right away, I went to [Head Athletic Trainer Jason Serbus] and told him to just keep checking in on her and let me know if I need to leave the game,” McMichael said. “Thankfully, I didn’t. It was a pretty crazy night.”
McMichael raced out of Capital One Arena after the Capitals’ 6-3 victory and did not meet with reporters. McMichael’s girlfriend, Lene Andersen, then welcomed the couple’s first child, a baby boy named Lowen in the morning.
“To be honest with you, it was hard to focus,” McMichael said. “I had Serbs keeping me updated if she texted him or anything after every shift, so that was nice to ease my mind a little bit, but it was still kinda hard to focus for sure.”
The two goals against the Flyers gave McMichael his third-straight multi-point game and his third career multi-goal game. He received 16:15 of ice time in the game, skating with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tom Wilson on the second line.
“I would say it’s the best 12 hours of my life,” McMichael said. “It was a roller coaster. Honestly, it’s something that you can’t find words to describe how cool it is. Watching Lene do what she did. It’s a pretty amazing experience, so couldn’t be more thankful to have her and brought a new life into this world. It’s been awesome so far, and we’re really happy to be parents.”
The only downside?
“I’ve been trying to find some nap times here and there,” he said. “I’m feeling pretty good, but we’ll see how it goes.”
