dailyloe.com – Los Angeles Kings interim coach D.J. Smith was hit by falling glass during a playoff game in Denver on Tuesday night. A glass panel behind the Kings bench shattered after Colorado Avalanche fans celebrated a key save. The incident occurred during Game 2 of the playoff series between the Kings and the Avalanche. Smith was struck by the glass as it rained down from behind him.
Smith felt pushing from behind before the glass began to fall. He did not have time to duck out of the way of the shattering pane. The coach covered his head and brushed glass off his suit after the break. He then headed down the tunnel to the locker room before returning minutes later.
The panel broke right after Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood stopped a penalty shot from Kings player Quinton Byfield. This occurred with 16 minutes and 48 seconds left in the second period. Fans pounded on the glass in excitement following the crucial save. The glass began to sway before ultimately giving way.
“Whoever the guy [was] just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” Smith said after the game. “I looked back because it hit me a bunch of times, then it broke.” The Avalanche cleanup crew used shovels and buckets to remove the fragments. Kings players waited on the ice for a new pane to be installed.
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog spoke to ESPN hockey analyst Erik Johnson about the event. Landeskog said he has never seen something like that happen before. He noted it was loud when Wedgewood made the save. Fans got a little too excited during the celebration.
