NHL players are constantly spitting while on the bench. They put some water in their mouth, then they spit over and over.
The bench can be a hilarious place in many sports, but this blooper is exclusive to hockey. Spitting this much in an area where people frequently whizz by at high speeds is going to lead to some collisions – collisions between spit and human. Normally in life, spitting on someone can not only be considered assault, it’s one of the more disrespectful things someone can do to another human.
However, in these cases, where it’s very clearly an accident, it becomes one of the best sports bloopers around. Dustin Byfuglien is the latest to join the ranks of NHLers that have accidently spat on someone from the bench.
This is the classic “Oh no, I just spat on someone” face in the NHL.
In the clip, it looks like the person isn’t wearing a helmet, so it was probably a member of the game-ops crew, rather than a linesman or referee. Good thing, because being tied for 5th in penalty minutes in the NHL, Byfuglien doesn’t need any other reason for the refs to be going against him.
There are two other famous moments like this one, these ones involving Jonathan Bernier and Zach Parise. Here they are:
There should be a legends row of bench spitters in the Hockey Hall of Fame. We just need one more caught on camera to get a real Mount Rushmore.
