April 22 (UPI) -- A fan accidentally shattered a glass pane onto the Los Angeles Kings' bench, covering interim coach D.J. Smith in shards during an NHL playoff loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Denver.Smith found himself under a shower of glass less than four minutes into the second period of the 2-1 setback Tuesday at Ball Arena. Fans pounded on the glass throughout the night, and it finally gave way after Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood stopped a Quinton Byfield penalty shot.The glass wall -- which is about a half-inch thick and has panes that weigh between 50 and 250 pounds -- swayed before it cracked and landed on Smith, who put his hand over his head for protection."After the penalty shot, the guy just kept pushing and pushing," Smith told reporters.
"I looked back, because it hit me a bunch of times, and then it broke."Ball Arena employees scooped up the glass and removed it. They then replaced the pane during a 15-minute delay of play.The Avalanche outshot the Kings 36-25 and held a 29-23 advantage in hits. Neither team scored for the first two periods.
Kings forward Artemi Panarin beat Wedgewood for first blood off a power play with 6:56 remaining.Gabriel Landeskog netted an equalizer about three minutes later. Fellow Avalanche forward Nicolas Roy scored the game-winner 7:44 into overtime.The Kings (0-2) will host the Avalanche (2-0) in Game 3 of the best-of-seven game first-round series at 10 p.m. EDT Thursday in Los Angeles. Game 4 of the Western Conference series will be Sunday in Los Angeles.