Craig Smith is 17 games into his NHL career, and all indications are that the 22-year-old forward (seven goals, seven assists) has a promising future.
That’s good news for Smith, because on Thursday night, during the Predators‘ 4-1 win over Toronto, he whiffed on an empty net—and the video isn’t going away anytime soon.
With about 1:20 left in the game—Nashville was up 3-1 at the time and Toronto had pulled its goalie—Smith retrieved a shot by teammate Sergei Kostitsyn that had bounced off the boards in front of the Maple Leafs’ net and roofed the puck. The goal horn blared; fans cheered; teammates celebrated.
Smith, though, had shot the puck over the crossbar and into the stands.
Luckily for him, the Predators eventually added an empty netter and held on for the win.
“We’ll be joking and jabbing him for the next week or two,” chuckled coach Barry Trotz after the game.