April 14--Blackhawks winger Andrew Ladd arrived in St. Louis in time for Game 1 of the Hawks' playoff series with the Blues.
Ladd was a game-time decision, according to coach Joel Quenneville, after Ladd spent most of Wednesday with his wife, Brandy, who was delivering the couple's third child. Television cameras captured Ladd's entrance into Scottrade Center.
The Hawks may have benefited from the late start time, 8:42 p.m. Central, as it might have given Ladd extra time to get from Chicago to St. Louis. Ladd was not at the Hawks' morning skate.
This isn't the first time Ladd has had to deal with potentially missing a game to be there for the birth of one of his children. When he was with the Jets, Ladd missed a game against the Stars to be there for the birth of the couple's second child.
"Family ... that's my number one priority, and it trumps everything else in life," Ladd said then according to the Winnipeg Sun. "It was a pretty easy decision for me."
Winger Richard Panik took Ladd's place on the top line left wing alongside Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. Panik didn't know if he would be in the lineup or not.
"I'm probably not going to know until the last minute if I'm going to play or not, so just (do) the same routine, what I do before the game when I play," Panik said. "If I'm going to play, I can't be too excited about it. Things are going to work out. It's a simple hockey game."
