- An Oilers fan chucked a rotisserie chicken onto the ice with 5:51 left in the third period of Game 2
- The delay came right after a tying goal and may have flipped Edmonton’s momentum
- Read below for the full play-by-play and what happened 59 seconds after the cleanup
An Oilers fan made quite the scene at Rogers Place on Wednesday night, and it may have cost Edmonton Game 2.
With 5:51 left in the third period of a tied 4-4 contest, a fan launched what looked like an entire rotisserie chicken onto the ice. Play was stopped, the bird broke into pieces in front of the Anaheim bench, and the ice crew had to come out and scrape up the mess.
Rough spot for the home team. Josh Samanski had just scored an emotional game-tying goal, and Rogers Place was rocking. Then the noise vanished while the cleanup crew picked up chicken scraps.
A fan in a white jersey was escorted out of his seat shortly after the throw, per the Daily Hive. Cooked meat is not allowed inside Rogers Place, meaning the bird was smuggled through security.
The stoppage essentially handed Anaheim a free timeout. Fifty-nine seconds after play resumed, Cutter Gauthier buried the go-ahead goal to give the Ducks a 5-4 lead.
Ryan Poehling added an empty-netter, and Anaheim walked out of Edmonton with a 6-4 win to even the series at 1-1.
Throwing food on the ice is not new for Oilers fans. Over the past two playoff runs, some supporters have chucked slabs of raw Alberta beef onto the surface as a Canadian answer to the Detroit Red Wings’ octopus tradition.
That version of the tradition stays on the ground before puck drop. What happened Wednesday was different. A hot bird got flung during live play while the Oilers were in the middle of a rally, and the delay may have flipped the outcome. The fan can think about that one on the drive home.
