Oh baby: Carlo helps Bruins take opener
Have a day, Brandon Carlo.
The Boston defenceman wasn't with his team Monday morning for an excellent reason — his wife Mayson was giving birth to their son, Crew. It's the couple's second child.
With mother and baby doing well, Carlo flew to South Florida, arriving at Amerant Bank Arena later than the rest of his teammates, and scored a second-period goal for the Bruins in their 5-1 win over the Panthers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. Carlo scored with 21 seconds left in the second, getting his second goal of the playoffs and giving Boston a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Carlo also got an assist on the goal that sent Boston to Florida for the second round. He helped set up David Pastrnak's goal on Saturday night that gave Boston a series-winning goal to beat Toronto 2-1 in overtime of Game 7 of that Round 1 matchup.
Bowness retires after 38 years
Rick Bowness walked off the ice last week after his Winnipeg Jets were eliminated from the playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche and he knew the day had finally arrived. The time had come for the 69-year-old head coach to retire after 38 seasons in the NHL.
“Coaches have always told me — and I’m talking to the older coaches, older than me — and they’ve always said, ‘You’ll know when it’s time,’ ” Bowness said Monday. “And when I was looking around and just, I wasn’t happy with the job I had done, and it just hit me then, it’s time.”
He told his assistant coaches an hour after the Game 5 loss to the Avalanche that he planned to retire and they asked if he wanted to think about it.
“But I knew. I knew in my heart it was time,” Bowness said.
Family life was also a big reason for his decision. Bowness left the Jets twice this past season for personal reasons. He was away for more than a month after his wife, Judy, suffered a seizure last October.
He also missed time to have a minor, undisclosed medical procedure in March.
“Those are life-changing moments. They are, they are,” Bowness said. “And I’m still dealing with some minor issues that I’ve got to get resolved.”
The Moncton, N.B., native guided the Jets to a 98-57-9 record during his two seasons behind the bench, leading the team to the playoffs each year only to be bounced out in five games in both opening-round series.
The early exit was especially stinging this season, when Winnipeg finished second in the Western Conference while matching a franchise record with 52 wins. When the Jets won Game 1 of the series against the Avalanche, Bowness became the oldest head coach to win an NHL playoff game.
He is also a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, recognizing the top head coach in the NHL.
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Bowness was “always putting the organization or the players or other people ahead of himself … just a great hockey coach and an even better person.”