Wild scenes as fan cracks glass during NHL playoff game

April 23, 2026 Oliver Obel

A chaotic and unusual scene disrupted an NHL playoff game in Denver on Tuesday night, when shattered glass from the boards struck members of the Los Angeles Kings bench, including head coach D.J. Smith.

The incident unfolded during Colorado’s win over Los Angeles, a result that gave the Avalanche a 2-0 lead in the series but was partly overshadowed by the mid-game stoppage.

Glass shatters behind Kings bench

The moment came in the second period after goaltender Scott Wedgewood stopped a penalty shot. According to reports and video shared by Bleacher Report, a fan seated directly behind the Kings bench began forcefully striking the glass in celebration.

The repeated impact caused the protective pane to crack and eventually break, sending fragments down toward the bench area and forcing officials to halt play.

https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/2046795960743755973

19-minute delay clears the ice

The game was paused for roughly 19 minutes while arena staff installed a replacement panel. During that time, the Kings left the bench and returned to their dressing room as a precaution.

Smith later described the moment as both sudden and alarming.

“After the penalty shot, whoever the guy was just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” he said. “I looked back because it hit me a bunch of times, and then it broke.”

The coach confirmed he was not injured.

Players and coaches react

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar suggested the incident was an unfortunate byproduct of playoff intensity.

“Usually (it breaks) on the ice, and it can take a while, that’s a different one, but stuff happens, fans get excited,” he told reporters.

Team captain Gabriel Landeskog also downplayed the disruption, noting that while unusual, it did not significantly impact the game.

“I don’t think really anybody was frustrated at that point,” 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. It doesn’t happen every day, so you just deal with it.”

Eyewitnesses describe fan behavior

According to The Athletic, spectators sitting nearby said the fan had been striking the glass with extreme force even before it gave way.

“He was basically just wailing on it as hard as he could,” Avalanche fan Mike McNish said.

McNish added that some members of the Kings staff were visibly upset in the aftermath. “Some of the coaches were a little upset with the guy who did it, they said a couple choice words to him.”

Series shifts to Los Angeles

With the Avalanche now holding a two-game advantage, the series moves to Los Angeles, where the Kings will try to respond both on the scoreboard and after a night that included one of the more bizarre playoff interruptions in recent memory.

Sources: The Athletic, Bleacher Report