WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Winning their first-round playoff series in five games was beneficial to the stamina of the Tampa Bay Lightning -- and essential to the sanity of J.T. and Natalie Miller.
Had the Lightning's series gone to six games against the New Jersey Devils, J.T. would have been in Newark while his wife, Natalie, was delivering their first child, daughter Scottlyn, at 7:20 p.m. on April 23. "We won Game 5, and she went into labor 30 hours later," Miller told ESPN.
Her pregnancy spanned a hockey year for Miller that saw his season with the New York Rangers descend into disappointment before he was shipped down to Tampa in a trade-deadline blockbuster that included defenseman Ryan McDonagh.