"Overtime was too much excitement, so it must have been the trigger," Rowney laughed.
And at 10 a.m. the next morning - which was, fittingly enough, Mother's Day - Carter and Danielle welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Anders.
"It was a long night after that game, for sure," Rowney said. "It was great. The adrenaline was running from the game as well and with the excitement of the baby, there wasn't much sleep after that night. I was able to be there for the birth and be there to support my wife, so it was just an unbelievable experience."
Anders is already listening to his dad, who told him before he left for the arena to try and wait just a little bit longer before entering the world.
"Actually, before the game, I talked to Danielle's belly and I said, 'just stay in for the game and come out after,'" Rowney laughed. "It's funny that he came right after the game ended. That was pretty cool."
Danielle's due date had actually been the Thursday before, so Rowney said everybody was worried that Anders might come after Carter left for Ottawa for Games 3 and 4.
"Up to the due date it was really stressful because I thought if we go to Ottawa, we're gone for five days so there's a good chance I'm probably going to miss it," Rowney said. "So him coming on Sunday right after that game was perfect timing and it's been exciting."
Now that Rowney is in Canada's capital, Carter's mom has been in town and Danielle's mom and brother flew in to help her out until the team returns to Pittsburgh on Saturday.
"It makes everything easier and gives me peace of mind when I'm on the road to help her out because I'm sure she's pretty exhausted," Rowney said, who can't wait to see his son.
"I can't really explain it. It's just overwhelming. It's pretty cool when he comes out, it's your kid and he's my baby boy and I can't explain it. I love him so much already."
