The Edmonton Oilers have gotten their fair share of greasy goals over the years, but this one was just plain cheesy.
Trailing 3-1 to the top-ranked Washington Capitals nearing the five-minute mark of the third quarter at Rogers Place on Tuesday, Oilers forward Corey Perry scored on a one-timer off a pass from Leon Draisaitl.
The puck was barely past him before Capitals goalie Logan Thompson could be seen pointing near the top of the left circle where Perry took the shot, in efforts to get the referee’s attention.
Sitting in plain view, right in the middle of the ice for the television cameras to see, was a plastic tray of nachos and cheese that had been tossed down from the stands.
Perry had to navigate the littered obstacle with his skates as he wound up for the one-timer.
“I didn’t even see them if they were there before, or whatever,” Perry said. “I was focused on the play and (Draisaitl) made a great play.”
Thompson had no trouble spotting them, of course, but the distraction wasn’t enough to warrant a review from the officials.
“I never seen that before and obviously I have to play to the whistle, that one’s on me,” Thompson said. “I don’t know what the official ruling on that is, but just play to the whistle and don’t worry about stuff on the ice.
“I saw the guy who threw them, he wasn’t too happy. Credit to him, he got them a goal.”
Needless to say, the offending fan shouldn’t be expecting a thank-you card from the Oilers for his unprovoked assist.
“Hopefully he doesn’t start something and we can keep the ice clean,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said, possibly envisioning a new take on barrages such as the Rat Trick of the Florida Panthers in the mid-90s, or the Detroit Red Wings’ Legend of the Octopus.
Closer to home, of course, the Oilers had more than a few of their own jerseys get discarded on the ice by unhappy fans during the Decade of Darkness.
But this one is new.
“Yeah, we did see that and I had no idea what was going on until after the cleanup crew came and skated by our bench,” Knoblauch continued. “I heard the guys talking on the bench and had no idea what they were talking about.
“And when the ice crew skated by, then I understood.”
His counterpart behind the Capitals bench was in much the same boat.
“That’s a first. We just talked about it in the coach’s office, I don’t think I’ve ever seen nachos on the ice in a National Hockey League game,” said Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery. “I don’t think there is much they can do.
“I didn’t even notice them, and the guys were yelling there were nachos on the ice. I don’t know, can we challenge that? It was good.”
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On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge