Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson acknowledges that he was distracted by a tray of nachos that was thrown onto the ice soon before Oilers forward Corey Perry scored on him during Washington's 3-2 win in Edmonton on Tuesday.
"I've never seen that before," Thompson, who managed to stop the puck on 30 other chip and cheese-less occasions, said after the game, via ESPN. "Obviously, I've got to play to the whistle. That one's on me."
"That's a first," Capitals head coach Spencer 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. Did they save them? Maybe we can bring them into the locker room."
Less than five minutes into the third period with the Caps ahead 3-1, the puck was moved by the Oilers' Leon Draisaitl who found Perry for a one-timer just a few feet away from the tray of nachos.
After the puck was blasted past the goalie, he began pointing with his glove toward the tray of food protesting that he was distracted by the foreign object on the ice.
"I didn't even notice them, and then guys were yelling, 'There's nachos on the ice!'" Carbery said. "I was like, 'I don't know, can we challenge that?'"
The protest was in vain as the goal stood.
The rule covering spectator interference for objects thrown onto the ice allows for play to be stopped and a face-off at the spot in the nearest zone to where play is halted in the event that the object interferes with the "progress of the game."
While Thompson was upset and obviously claimed he was distracted, the tray of food really didn't impact the play of the game.
"I saw the guy that threw them," the goaltender added. "Wasn't too happy. But credit to him. He got them a goal."
Of course, Washington held on for the win with Thompson making several big stops down the stretch – including killing a 6-on-4 power play in the closing minutes – to improve his tally to 22-2-3 on the season and earn the Capitals their 32nd win on the season through 47 games, moving them seven points clear atop the Eastern Conference.