This was nacho average goal.
A battle between two of the NHL’s best teams Tuesday night took a bizarre turn when the Edmonton Oilers benefitted from a fan throwing their cheesy nachos onto the ice, scoring a goal on distracted Washington Capitals goalie Logan Thompson, who pointed at them and complained to the referees after the puck got by him.
Oilers star Leon Draisaitl brought the puck into the Caps’ zone and fed a hungry Corey Perry near the nachos in the left circle for a one-timer that cut Edmonton’s deficit to 3-2 with 15:10 left in the third period.
There was then a break in the action so the nachos could be cleaned up.
“I’ve never seen that before. Obviously, I’ve got to play to the whistle and that one’s on me,” Thompson, who’s been one of the best goalies in the league this season, said after the game.
Fortunately for him and the Capitals, the cheesy mess didn’t cost them the game as they held on to win, 3-2, and remain atop the NHL standings with 69 points.
Because the nachos didn’t seem to interfere with the play, there was nothing for the referees to do other than award the goal.
The veteran Perry, who scored his eighth goal of the season, said he “didn’t even see” the nachos because he was focused on the play.
Neither did Capitals coach Spencer Carbery.
“That’s a first,” Carbery 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. We were saying, ‘Did they save them? Maybe we can bring them into the locker room.’
“Honestly, I don’t think there’s much they can do. I didn’t even notice it, then the guys were yelling, ‘There’s nachos on the ice!’ I don’t know, can we challenge that?”
Thompson made 30 saves on 32 shots and now boasts a 2.09 goals-against average, second-best in the NHL, and a .925 save percentage, third-best in the league.