Sleepless Brandon Montour rushed to welcome baby between Games 1 and 2

SUNRISE, Fla. – Brandon Montour had no clue his wife, Ryian, had gone into labour when he stepped on the ice Saturday for his Stanley Cup Final debut.

The couple’s firstborn child wasn’t due until June 18, and they had smartly scheduled Ryain to be induced on June 14, during the two-day break between games 5 and 6 of the Florida PanthersVegas Golden Knights series.

Baby Kai unexpectedly jumped up in the play, however, and the defenceman was forced to rush.

Stepping off the ice after a tough 5-2 loss at T-Mobile Arena, head coach Paul Maurice and GM Bill Zito informed Montour that the baby was on the way.

“Change of schedule,” Montour said.

By 11 p.m., Montour found himself alone on a chartered plane, zipping back to Florida. He arrived at 6:30 a.m., in the nick of time for the more intense hours of Ryian’s labour.

“I was getting texts from our parents [on the plane], letting me know where she was at. I didn’t think I was gonna make it. So, I honestly didn’t sleep at all. Got right there to Boca [Raton] and went to the delivery room, and it was kinda game on,” Montour recalled Wednesday.

“As soon as I got there, it was straight to work — for her. I tried to get there as quick as I could. But luckily, I was there for it all and got to experience it with her.”

Then it was right back on a 9 p.m. flight back to Las Vegas to play Game 2.

If Montour’s mind has wandered early this series, there is good reason.

Maurice jokes about his top — if slumping — offensive defenceman racking up his frequent flyer miles, but with Radko Gudas’s health in question, the Panthers will need Montour to summon some new-dad strength this week at home.

“Monty’s a physical specimen. He can handle a little fatigue, and I think it was a good way for him to get used to becoming a father, right? Or a mother, for that matter,” Maurice said.

“Sleep (deprivation) is your life for the next 12 years. He flew back and forth a couple of times, was there for the birth, which was really a good thing to happen. He missed the first drive home. We had a good laugh about that, but he’ll be there for a lot of firsts.”

Montour’s teammates have been supportive during this whirlwind.

“I have a family at home, but this is my family at the rink. They care what’s going on in our lives, and they’re excited for me,” Montour said. “Unfortunately, Game 2 didn’t end the way we want it. But we tried to have that motivation and have a new baby in our world help us out.

“They care so much about me, as do I for them. So, just nice to come back and try to get back to business as soon as we could.”