Why 2 Bruins teammates spent the last few nights in same hospital

"Now we're three doors down [from each other], so it was really nice that we could both be there and experience the same thing.”

Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt both spent the last few nights in the hospital. Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe

By Conor Ryan

April 16, 2026 | 5:43 PM

2 minutes to read

It’s been a hectic week for Bruins forwards Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha.

Not only are they bracing for the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but both players spent the last few nights just a few doors from one another in the same hospital as they both welcomed new babies earlier this week.

Mittelstadt’s fiancée, Tatum Shaeffer, gave birth to the couple’s first child — a son named Macklin James Mittelstadt — on Tuesday.

The next day, Pavel Zacha and his wife, Gaby, welcomed their daughter, Penelope, into the world.

“I saw Macklin yesterday,” Zacha said Thursday of visiting the new addition to the Mittelstadt family. “It was really cool. Now we’re three doors down [from each other], so it was really nice that we could both be there and experience the same thing.”

Mittelstadt missed Tuesday’s regular-season finale against the Devils to be there for the birth of his son, with his fiancée getting induced that day.

“It went a little longer than we expected, but everything went great and went well,” Mittelstadt said. “So it was kind of on the schedule. Get everything settled, make sure mom and baby are healthy and home safe before playoffs.”

Zacha was in the lineup for Tuesday’s game at TD Garden, but left after the first period of play in order to get over to the hospital.

“I didn’t think it was going to happen that soon, but it was an exciting call,” Zacha said. “Got a couple of handshakes leaving the locker room, so it was really nice. Everyone was excited for us. … It was weird leaving the game too, and it was just completely different mindsets, kind of leaving, and then you had to refocus on something completely different. But, yeah, I’m happy. I’m happy everyone’s healthy.”

Both Mittelstadt and Zacha are expected to be in the lineup once the playoffs begin, with Game 1 between the Bruins and Sabres set for Sunday in Buffalo. A start time has not yet been announced by the NHL.

During Friday’s practice, Mittelstadt and Zacha skated in their usual spots on the second line next to Viktor Arvidsson.

That forward trio has been Boston’s most impactful line this season, with the Bruins outscoring opponents, 42-22, in 583 minutes of 5-on-5 play.

Mittelstadt, who was drafted eighth overall by the Sabres in the 2017 NHL Draft, is expecting a raucous crowd at KeyBank Center on Sunday.

“I think I got to experience the city in crazy times, whether it’s Bills games or some Sabres games when I was there,” Mittelstadt said of Buffalo. “So I know what the atmosphere is going to be like, and it’s going to be nuts. So I think that’s going to be really fun for us — especially when you go on the road to start and play the villain role early.”