Hurricanes' Sean Walker welcomes daughter, sweeps Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- Sean Walker was recovering from the Carolina Hurricanes' Game 3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night when he got the call. It was the defenseman's wife, Taylor, back in North Carolina.

Her water had just broken.

Suddenly, Walker's thoughts shifted from being there for his teammates in a Stanley Cup playoff series to being by Taylor's side as quickly as possible.

Walker and the team found a 6 a.m. flight back to Raleigh. He was on FaceTime with his wife all morning, right up until he was about to board the plane.

"Things were kind of getting going," he said. "So that was really tough."
He arrived back home, rushed to the hospital and got there in time to experience the birth of his first child, a daughter named Quinn.

"The baby gods were on my side on that one," Walker said. "Mom and baby are doing amazing. I can't put into words how proud I am of her. She had to go through it a little bit without me there, but she was amazing."

Walker called it a "whirlwind," but it wasn't over yet. The Hurricanes were scheduled to play the Flyers at 6 p.m. on Saturday with a chance to sweep Philadelphia. Walker plays the fourth-most minutes on average (22:19) for Carolina and is a key player on the penalty kill, arguably the most dominant part of the team.

He ate his pregame meal in the hospital cafeteria before boarding a private jet that Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon arranged for him, according to the TNT broadcast. Walker arrived back in Philadelphia at 2 p.m. Saturday. He rushed to the hotel to freshen up and get a little rest before taking the team bus to the arena for the game.

Coach Rod Brind'Amour said the team acknowledged the birth of Walker's daughter before the game, as well as the dedication it took to be with his family and then back with his hockey family.

"I can't imagine going through that -- just where your head's at," teammate Logan Stankovensaid. "He came out and battled hard, and he didn't look out of place at all."

Walker played 23:13 in Game 4, which Carolina won in overtime 3-2 to complete the sweep. It was Carolina's eighth straight win to start the playoffs, which makes the Hurricanes the first team to go undefeated in the first two rounds since the NHL's four-round, seven-game series format was established in 1987.

"It was weird. It was kind of like one of the easiest and hardest games I've maybe ever played, if that makes sense," Walker said. "You just kind of live in the moment. Running on no sleep. It's just crazy. But you just show up, and the guys were amazing. Everybody -- team services, the whole organization from the owner down -- really made it possible for me to be there and get back in time. I just was happy to contribute."

Carolina winger Taylor Hall was also impressed with how well Walker played in Game 4 despite the 24 hours of blissful chaos.

"It's a life-changing moment, and I think he was a little bit stressed in the last couple of weeks just about when it was going to happen," Hall said. "Was it going to be a game day or if he was going to miss a game? Because when you look at the due date, it's like right around the playoff second round. I think he was happy that it happened the way it did. You have so much energy after seeing your kid born."

With the sweep, Walker will now have some family bonding time. The Hurricanes were told they have the next two days off, drawing loud cheers in the locker room after the overtime win. They won't play again until the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens complete their series, which is tied 1-1. Game 7 between those teams wouldn't be until May 18 if it goes that far.

"I didn't want to get on the boys and tell them we better win tonight, but I'm really appreciative of everybody dug in," Walker said. "The sweep's huge for everybody, but to take this time to just be with my family is going to be really special."br/]