Jacob Fowler was targeted by a fan in Toronto - what happened next involving the referee was bizarre
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
A fan threw an apple at Jacob Fowler in Toronto and the referee offered it back. The Canadiens goalie laughed it off after a 4-2 win over the Maple Leafs.
A fan in Toronto threw a green apple toward Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler on Saturday, and referee TJ Luxmore later pulled it out of his pocket and appeared to offer it to him.
Fowler laughed it off after a 4-2 win over the Maple Leafs.
What actually happened
Fowler explained after the game that the apple had come from the stands.
Luxmore picked it up, held on to it, and produced it at a second-period whistle, which is when the cameras caught the strange exchange.
Nobody was hurt and play was not disrupted.
Toronto crowds have a history of launching odd items onto the ice, jerseys and waffles among them, and this apple joins that list.
It was harmless this time, but projectiles are never welcome near a goalie mid-game.
The game behind the viral moment
Fowler made 26 saves while Alex Newhook scored twice in the first period and Chris Kreider added a breakaway goal for a 3-0 Montreal lead.
William Nylander and Gavin McKenna cut it to 3-2 within 55 seconds in the third, but Zachary Bolduc answered on the power play.
Fowler and the penalty kill then held firm through a late double minor to Juraj Slafkovsky.
Montreal is now 11-3-3 and has won seven of its last eight.
Toronto sits at 8-8-2 and has lost four of its last five in regulation.
Fowler has also earned at least a point in nine straight starts, and doing that as a second-year goalie in a rival building says plenty about his composure.
A stray apple was never going to rattle him.
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