Los Angeles Kings head coach DJ Smith was showered with glass after a Colorado Avalanche fan broke the pane directly behind him on the Kings bench Tuesday night.
The incident occurred after in the second period of the Kings’ 2-1 overtime loss in Game 2. It came after Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood denied Kings forward Quinton Byfield on a penalty shot in the second period.
“After the penalty shot, whoever the guy [was] just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” Smith said post-game, appearing uninjured by the incident. “I looked back because it hit me a bunch of times, and then it broke.”
An Avalanche spokesperson told The Athletic that staff reviewed the footage and determined the fan didn’t do anything worthy of an ejection. The fix took 19 minutes early in the second frame while the two teams were scoreless.
The Avalanche said their team took the incident in stride.
“I don’t think really anybody was frustrated at that point,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “I think maybe the only thing was that there’s so many bodies skating around the ice, so it did wear the ice out a little bit for the rest of (the period). … Doesn’t happen every day, so you just deal with it.”
“Usually (it breaks) on the ice, and it can take a while,” head coach Jared Bednar added. “That’s a different one, but stuff happens. Fans get excited.”
Nicolas Roy scored the game-winner just under eight minutes into overtime on Tuesday, giving Colorado a 2-0 series lead ahead of Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles.
“To a man, we’re playing hard. We hoped to be split here, but regardless, we’re going to have to win at home,” Smith said reflecting on the first two games. “We have to find a way to win. Clearly, good isn’t enough.”
