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Los Angeles Kings head coach DJ Smith narrowly avoids disaster in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.
Raucous Avalanche fans banging on the glass behind Smith caused the glass to shatter after Colorado goaltender Scott Wedgewood made a stop on Quinton Byfield. Some shards of glass rained down on Smith. He covered his head and brushed the glass off his suit before running down the tunnel to be checked out.
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Members of the Colorado Avalanche conversion team carry a new piece of glass to the Los Angeles Kings bench during the second period of Game 2 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on April 21, 2026. (Jack Dempsey/AP)
Smith was OK and he returned to the game.
“Whoever the guy (was) just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” he called. “I looked back because it hit me a bunch of times, then it broke.”
The incident delayed the game for about 15 minutes. The score was tied at zero when the glass broke. Colorado eventually picked up the 2-1 victory in overtime thanks to Nicolas Roy’s winner. The Avalanche had a 2-0 series lead.
Avalanche star Gabriel Landeskog said he was “high” when Wedgewood made the save and admitted “the fans got a little too excited.”
Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog discusses a call with referee TJ Luxmore during the second period of Game 2 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings in Denver on April 21, 2026. (Jack Dempsey/AP)
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“There’s nothing you can do to control it. There’s nothing you can do about it, so you just have to deal with it,” he said of the delay. “I think maybe the only thing was that there were so many bodies on the ice that it (wore) the ice out a little bit for the rest (of the period).
“I thought the ice team did a great job and they did their best to fix it as quickly as possible. It doesn’t happen every day.”
Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said the delay was a first for him.
“It’s something else,” Bednar said. “But I mean, things happen. Fans get excited. Our guys were excited, competed hard. There were a lot of close games on the ice today. It felt like playoff hockey.”
Los Angeles Kings interim coach DJ Smith talks with center Samuel Helenius during the first period of Game 2 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on April 21, 2026. (Jack Dempsey/AP)
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Game 3 is set for Thursday night in Los Angeles.
