WILMINGTON, Mass. — Boston Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk may have been just a little bit tired at work on Monday morning, but he also couldn’t be happier.
Boychuk and his wife saw a joyous end to a weekend of labor early Monday morning when they welcomed twin daughters into the world. The Bruins’ blue liner left the team toward the end of its three-game road trip late last week to witness the birth of his daughters. The labor took a little longer than expected, but by the time the sun came up on a new week, Boychuk was a proud new papa.
Then, he went to work.
Boychuk was on the ice for Bruins practice Monday morning for the  10:30 a.m. session. His daughters were born around 2:30 a.m., and Boychuk said he was afforded a couple precious hours of sleep before he had to be in Wilmington for practice. Still wearing hospital bracelets from what was surely an exhausting weekend, Boychuk then led the team stretch at the end of the practice.
“It was pretty special night, or morning, I guess,” a smiling Boychuk said after practice. “Just happy they’re here.”
The defenseman left the team last week following a loss to the Kings in Los Angeles. His cross-country journey was made easier by the fact that he was flying out of L.A. where there was no shortage of direct flights.
Boychuk was obviously appreciative of being able to get back to Boston despite the fact that the Bruins were in the middle of the California road trip. Family comes first, however, even in professional sports, and there was never a question of whether he’d be able to be home with his growing family.
“A lot of guys on our team have families, the coaches have families, it’s important to show us that family’s always first,” he said. “It was nice to come back, even though we thought it might come quick, it didn’t, but they’re here and that’s all that matters.”
