RALEIGH, N.C. — The on-ice celebration was underway for the Carolina Hurricanes, ticket in hand for their first Stanley Cup Final in two decades. But defenseman Jalen Chatfield had to bolt. Like, right now. He had just found out his wife, Drew, went into labor shortly before the Hurricanes’ Eastern Conference Final clincher. He quickly showered and changed, then hopped in an unmarked police car for a blue-lights-on rush to the hospital.“Everything was good, yeah, I made it on time with a couple of hours to spare,” Chatfield said of son Rhodes. “He was born at like 2 a.m., so, perfect.”Chasing the Cup is pressure enough for the Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights in a chaos-filled series with nightly multigoal comebacks and two overtime finishes. Throw in a life-changing event at home while fumbling with diaper changes or a baby crying through sleep-interrupted nights — and, well, there’s a lot going on at the moment.Three Hurricanes players have welcomed babies in these playoffs since early May. Multiple members of the Golden Knights are preparing for deliveries of their own this month, offering the potential of adding to the postseason baby boom amid the sport’s biggest event that could go until June 17 if there is a Game 7. Vegas leads 2-1 going into Tuesday night’s Game 3.“It’s going to be a lot of great stories to talk about,” said Vegas center Nic Dowd, whose wife, Paige, is due for their third child this month. “Having a new baby and trying to win a Stanley Cup, I’m going to compartmentalize those things. They’re different than each other, but definitely exciting and stressful. The biggest challenges in life are going to have the best rewards.”That was clear watching Hurricanes defenseman K’Andre Miller after closing out Montreal in the Eastern Conference Final on May 29.Nearly four weeks earlier, Miller and girlfriend Addison Clark had welcomed son Kashton, hours before Miller logged nearly 21 minutes of ice time in the 3-0 win to open Round 2 against Philadelphia. Fast forward to the night Chatfield rushed to the hospital, and there were viral videos of a teary Miller sitting on the bench afterward, holding Kashton and shaking his head between deep breaths in an emotional moment. Or …
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