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Why did Morgan Geekie leave Saturday’s game vs. the Rangers? His wife went into labor at TD Garden.
"Obviously it’s been on my mind for a while because it’s very unpredictable."
Saturday was a hectic afternoon for Morgan Geekie and his family.
While the Bruins winger took to the ice at TD Garden with his teammates for a matinee matchup against the Rangers, he exited the contest after the first period of play. Boston announced that Geekie left the game in order to attend to a family matter.
The reason?
Geekie announced Tuesday afternoon that his wife, Emma, went into labor while watching the game at TD Garden. The couple left the Bruins’ arena promptly as Boston’s game carried on, with the Geekies eventually welcoming a healthy baby boy, Max, later that evening.
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“Obviously it’s been on my mind for a while because it’s very unpredictable,”Geekie said after morning skate. “But my wife’s a champ and she was great. It’s tough to get that out of your mind, especially when things are at the forefront. It’s good everybody’s healthy and just looking to get back to it.”
As eventful as Saturday was, Geekie said that he and his family — which also includes Max’s older sister, Gabby — have been to spend the last few days together away from hockey.
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“We kind of snuck out of here, but it was good,” Geekie said. “Obviously a long couple of days but it’s good to be back here and be back with the guys. Obviously I’ve gotten a lot of texts. It seemed pretty somber at the start but it was good. We’re happy with how things ended up and just excited everyone’s healthy.”
Geekie, who also missed Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Penguins, will be back in the lineup for Tuesday’s home game against the Detroit Red Wings.
The 27-year-old forward, who has now gone nine straight games without scoring a goal, is hoping this break will offer the clean slate he needs to get back on the scoresheet.
“My job was pretty easy. My wife’s a trooper,” Geekie said. “But I think everybody after they have a kid, has a little bit of adrenaline for a couple days, so we’ll be riding that for a little bit. It’s always exciting to come back here. Everybody cares so much about everybody, and just excited to be part of the group again and get back at it tonight.”
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Marco Sturm would welcome a scoring surge from Geekie, who still leads Boston with 25 goals on the season despite having last lit the lamp since Dec. 20. Still, Boston’s head coach stressed that this weekend should shed some light on the challenges that athletes face away from the game.
“Now you can tell, a lot people don’t know what players actually go through. If you have a stretch like this, you have a pregnant wife at home, they had no parents in town. … it’s a lot on Morgan, too,” Sturm said. “A lot of people don’t know actually what’s happening.
“He’s such a good person but also a good dad. I’ve seen him. There’s a lot on those players. They’re dads, too, so that’s why. I’m not worried about him at all. Hopefully, he gets one for his little one today.”
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