Ice hockey puck disappears
Sportsmen aren’t capable of magic, but an ice hockey goaltender has done the best impersonation of a magician yet in making a puck seemingly disappear during an NHL game.
Washington Capitals’ Braden Holtby was in action against the Florida Panthers on the weekend when he stopped a shot in his protective equipment, causing the puck to become burrowed deep in his padding.
The missing puck caused a delay in the match as Holtby tried in earnest to find it with referees even joining in on the hunt in an attempt to avoid a restart and potentially having two pucks on the ice.
Footage from the match shows the Capitals net-minder taking gear off in order to rustle through his padding.
“He might find it in the shower in about an hour,” commentator Joe Beninati quipped as the search dragged on.
After a couple of minutes, the frustrated goaltender gave up the search with officials wanting to bite the bullet and restart with a second puck.
After Holtby puts his gloves and helmet back on, the original puck finally drops from his leg padding, prompting a roar from the Verizon Center crowd.
It all proved worthwhile for the Capitals goal-tender, with Washington prevailing 4-3.
“It just got stuck in my pads somewhere. I’m not really sure where — usually you can feel it. … It was a little weird,” Holtby said of the funny moment.
