When millions of dollars are involved and contracts and player livelihood is at stake, games are taken seriously. But occasionally, we get these brief glimpses of NHL players just being human and having fun, and even more rarely, we see them being downright silly on the ice. Let’s take a look back at some of the funniest moments in the NHL over the past few seasons.
Ref Hides Beachball in Jersey: Game 4 of the opening round of the 2017 NHL playoffs saw the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins tangle. Many will remember this as the Senators’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in double overtime of Game Seven. But for me, I’ll always remember when a Boston fan threw a pink beach ball onto the ice, and the referee grabbed it and quickly shoved it under the back of his jersey and kept on skating with the play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W20VzIHwFi8
Ovechkin’s Stick is on Fire: When Ovechkin scored his 50th goal of the 2009 season, he pulled out a celebration that still gets played on highlight and blooper reels to this day. His famous ‘stick is on fire’ celebration is loved by some and hated by hockey purists, but there is no denying that Ovechkin will go down as one of the most entertaining players to ever lace up the skates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa9vIQzzg38
Rask loses his skate blade: It wasn’t so much funny that the blade of Tuuka Rask’s skate fell off, but more so his reaction after Tampa Bay scored on him. I will always remember the sight of Rask chasing after the refs while trying to skate on one skate blade. Thankfully he wasn’t injured, nor was anyone else when he threw the skate blade in anger!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNmSOwEdpus
Barbashev loses his skate blade: More skate blade fun on the ice! Ivan Barbashev of the St. Louis Blues crashed heavily into the boards and completely lost the blade of his skate. This one was a little more light hearted than Rask’s situation, as the referee slid Barbashev on his knees all the way to the bench! That’s some quick thinking by that ref!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYvbivicegw
Girl Falls While Singing National Anthem: We’ve all seen this one before. In one of the most cringe worthy two minutes in national anthem history, this poor girl forgets the words to Star Spangled Banner and then promptly returns with cue cards, only to slip and fall on the ice. I am glad she was okay because I cannot help but laugh everytime I see her reaction after she slips!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGH-IazFuyI
Dustin Brown forgets how to use a water bottle: In one of the funniest five-second clips you’ll ever see, Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown goes to take a drink from the water bottle but doesn’t realize he’s holding it upside down. I think the best part of the clip is that Brown pretends like nothing is wrong and tries to play it cool by checking if anyone saw what he did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0euWphchbxU
Tie Domi fights a fan in the Penalty Box: Another classic moment where former Leafs tough guy Tie Domi is sitting in the penalty box, and a Flyers fan that’s probably had a little too much to drink falls in and starts throwing punches. Chaos ensues but give Domi credit for holding back and not beating the guy up! Domi has a great retelling of the story and how it all ended on the Spittin Chiclets podcast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS_92eKcGMI
Sean Avery Distracts Martin Brodeur: One of the most entertaining and divisive players in recent memory, Sean Avery took his antics a step further in the playoffs against Martin Brodeur. On a 5 on 3 power play, Avery parked himself in front of the Hall of Fame goalie and rather than use his body as a screen, he turned to face Brodeur and began to wave his arms and stick in his face. It was probably even more aggravating for Brodeur when Avery scored shortly after, and forced the NHL to create a rule before the next game even played.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec_2oKWe2Gw
Tiger Williams Rides the Pony: We’re going way back with this one in one of the most iconic goal scoring celebrations in NHL history. Vancouver Canucks tough guy Tiger Williams sure let people know whenever he scored a goal by riding on his stick across the ice like it was a horse. Something tells me if some other player tried to do this they would hear about it the next shift, but Tiger was tough enough to handle his own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy_VsqKzgn0
Skinner is in alone, without a stick: Jeff Skinner was home free behind the defense skating at full speed towards the Rangers’ net. Unfortunately for him he left his stick behind so he was dribbling the puck with his skates all the way down the ice. To make matters worse for Buffalo, the Rangers took the puck from Skinner and came back and scored at the other end. I can’t help but laugh when I think how helpless Skinner must have felt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4IWxBnpksE
Sully and Force Do Their Thing: Enough with funny players, it’s time to acknowledge some of the funniest fans in the stands. In Vancouver, Sully and Force, otherwise known as the Green Men, were often seen beside the opposing penalty box making life miserable for the other team’s players. Some of their antics include holding up signs, doing headstands against the glass, and even holding up a cutout of Carrie Underwood against the Predators (her husband Mike Fisher played for them).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8cmgjFa3V4
