iStockphoto / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
The Capitals walked away with a 3-2 win over the Oilers on Tuesday night in a game where Corey Perry was able to narrow Edmonton’s deficit to one five minutes into the third period. However, it appears he got a bizarre assist from a fan who chucked a tray of nachos onto the ice before the puck went into the net.
If you attend an NHL game, there’s always a chance you might end up seeing some stuff get thrown onto the playing surface.
The hats that litter the rink in the wake of a hat trick are easily the most common projectile, but if you’re watching a contest unfold in Detroit, Nashville, or the arena the Panthers call home, there’s a slim chance you’ll respectively encounter an octopus, catfish, or a shower of plastic rats courtesy of the fans responsible for carrying on some of the sport’s strangest traditions.
Oilers fans haven’t historically subscribed to a similar pastime, but you have to wonder if that might end up changing thanks to the object that led to a goal being scored when they hosted the Capitals on Tuesday night.
Washington headed into the third period up by a goal before Pierre-Luc Dubois extended the lead to 3-1 around four minutes into the final frame. However, Edmonton didn’t waste much time responding with one of their own, as Corey Perry ripped a one-timer past Capitals goalie Logan Thompson a minute later.
Leon Draisaitl was credited with the lone assist on the play, but someone in the stands earned an unofficial one due to the tray of nachos that was sitting on the ice in the zone just a few feet away from where Perry fired off the shot.
Thompson immediately pointed to the nachos after ceding the goal, and during a postgame interview, he implied they played a role in his inability to make the save, saying,
“I’ve never seen nachos and cheese on the ice there. It’s a weak goal on my part. I kind of stopped playing. I was distracted.
I’ve never seen that before, but the goal still counted. I don’t know the rule, so it is what it is.”
Thompson was right to be frustrated, as NHL Rule 63.5 states “In the event that objects are thrown on the ice that interfere with the progress of the game, the Referee shall blow the whistle and stop the play.”
With that said, he was able to stop the next four shots he faced to help his team get the win as Connor McDavid served the first game of the three-game suspension he earned for cross-checking Conor Garland over the weekend.