Stanley Cup Playoff crowds are notorious for being more raucous than the NHL's regular-season audiences. The TD Garden crowd brought that notion to life during Game 3 of the Boston Bruins' first-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, leading to a scary injury.
After Bruins right winger David Pastrnak scored a goal late in the second period to give Boston a 3-1 lead over Carolina, the fans seated near the penalty box repeatedly banged the glass with enough force to eventually knock a panel loose. The panel hit timeout coordinator Joe Foley in the head, causing him to collapse.
Emergency personnel immediately rushed to Foley, placed a neck brace on him and took him away via stretcher – a process that paused the game for roughly five minutes. Both the Bruins and Hurricanes offered their support on Twitter.
Here's how the unfortunate scene went down:
According to the Boston Globe, Foley went to a local hospital for precautionary reasons and was deemed OK.
Security reportedly escorted a fan from the area after the incident, but it's unclear whether the dismissal was directly linked to Foley's injury. The NHL discourages fans from banging on the glass because it could cause dangerous situations like the one Foley found himself in Friday.
The Bruins eventually beat the Hurricanes 4-2 to trail 2-1 in the series. Game 4 is set for Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and you can stream the game on fuboTV (try for free).
