A flying tray of nachos caused quite a stir during Tuesday’s NHL game between the Washington Capitals and Edmonton Oilers, leading to one of the weirdest goals you’ll ever see.
Capitals goalie Logan Thompson was distracted by the cheesy projectile when Oilers forward Corey Perry fired the puck past him 4:50 into the second period.
“I’ve never seen that before,” Thompson said after the game. “Obviously, I’ve got to play to the whistle. That one’s on me.”
The bizarre sequence started when a fan tossed their nachos onto the ice just as the Oilers were entering the offensive zone. While Thompson was pointing at the snack tray, Leon Draisaitl found Perry for a quick one-timer that made it 3-2.
Capitals coach Spencer Carbery couldn’t help but laugh about it later.
“That’s a first,” he said. “We just talked about that in the coaches’ office. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a nachos-on-the-ice National Hockey League game. Did they save them? Maybe we can bring them into the locker room.”
Technically, the refs could have stopped play. NHL Rule 63.5 says when objects interfere with the game, officials should blow the whistle and call for a face-off in the nearest zone.
But the nachos didn’t actually disrupt any players’ movements – Perry even skated right past them to score and later admitted he hadn’t even noticed them.
Thompson, who made 30 saves in the 3-2 win, took the incident in stride.
“I saw the guy that threw them,” he said. “Wasn’t too happy. But credit to him. He got them a goal.”
The victory was extra impressive for Thompson, who’s been on fire lately. It was his fifth straight game allowing two or fewer goals.
The Oilers, playing without suspended star Connor McDavid, couldn’t find the equalizer in the final 15 minutes despite the help from their unexpected nacho-throwing fan.
