NHL players hit by inflatable hot dog bun as promo challenge goes horribly wrong

07:07 ET, Sun, Oct 11, 2026 Updated: 07:12 ET, Sun, Oct 11, 2026

An inflatable hot dog hit NHL players during the Canadiens’ game against the Red Wings (Image: NHL)

A rogue inflatable hot dog bun hit NHL players as match-going fans' attempts to unite it with an inflatable wiener went horribly wrong. NHL fans packed inside Bell Center for the Montreal Canadiens' game against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.

The game was forced into a nail-biting shootout as the Canadiens and Red Wings went scoreless in regulation. However, before the game concluded, Montreal fans settled their nerves with a lighthearted challenge of uniting an inflatable bun with an inflatable wiener during a TV timeout in the third period.

However, the hot dog promo didn't go according to plan, and Canadiens players were caught in friendly fire as the inflatable bun struck players on the bench and on the ice. Captain Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovský tried to poke it with their sticks before it hit Noah Dobson and then Zachary Bolduc, too.

The inflatable wiener, which had the words "Go Habs Go!" on it, also suffered an unsuccessful fate, ending up over the glass and onto the ice. "Yeah, that didn't work out too good for them," Canadiens captain Suzuki quipped.

"That was crazy," Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle said. "I covered my mouth because I was laughing, and no one else was really laughing, and it was just me.

Fans tried to fit a giant inflatable hot dog into its bun during a third-period TV timeout (Image: SN)

"I've never seen that before. But the fans were having fun, so that's good."

Bolduc scored in the shootout as the win improved the Canadiens' record to 2-2-1 in 2026. "Yeah, you try to analyze, it's a goalkeeper who was pretty impressive tonight, it's a guy who was pretty deep in his net, so you try to analyze that as much as possible, and like I said, he's a pretty big guy, pretty tough, with long legs, so it's a little harder to get him to move, but I think that by analyzing your goalkeepers, you find flaws a little, and you try to exploit them," Bolduc said.

Bolduc has seen his role in Montreal increase in recent weeks. "You're always looking forward to your turn," he said on his playing time.

"You try to prepare as best you can, you try to analyze as many things as possible when your teammates go. You're always looking forward to it, you're always a little stressed, but it's a good stress, it's excitement. I'm happy with how it went."

In the end, fans were chanting his name. "I don't know how to describe it, but it's impressive, it's a privilege, I won't hide that I had a moment where I had to restrain myself," Bolduc said.

"At that moment, I restrained myself pretty quickly, but it's a privilege, and the fans are incredible, and we're really happy to have won."