With the start of April usually comes excitement for the postseason. But today, the NHL decided to take a break from the playoff excitement to celebrate April Fools' Day.
Around the league, teams were fully invested in April Fools' Day, pulling pranks on players and posting on social media. Here's some of the highlights from April 1.
Never-ending rinkside update
The Capitals decided to take part in the festivities, having some fun with Matt Niskanen following Washington's morning skate in Sunrise. After going through some questions about the upcoming game against Florida, Caps' host Mike Vogel tagged on questions about golf, the weather, shopping and suits, making the interview around 12 minutes long. The typical rinkside update lasts just a few minutes, leading to hilarity as Niskanen continuously grows confused throughout the video.
A never-ending Rinkside Update. #AprilFools, Nisky https://t.co/TTTtJuubQF
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 1, 2019
Oliver Ekman-Larsson becomes "The Bachelor"
The Arizona Coyotes got really into the holiday, announcing that defenseman and captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson was going to be the next bachelor. They even went the extra mile and were truly convincing, tweeting out an impressive graphic that made several fans take a second look.
Official: Oliver Ekman-Larsson will begin filming "The Bachelor" season 24 this July in his hometown of Tingsryd, Sweden.
Tune in on @ABC as 30 women scratch and claw their way to the defenseman's heart. pic.twitter.com/143p64EDi2— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) April 1, 2019
A fake highlight-reel goal
The NHL really got fans with another prank, tweeting out and promoting an apparently unreal play that Calgary Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau made in the Flames' 5-3 win over San Jose Sunday.
However, about four seconds into the video, right before Gaudreau really gets the chance to do anything with the puck, the video freezes, leading to panic from fans that the wi-fi is oout and having multiple people restart the video, only to see the buffering logo over and over again. It's not until you see the video still going that you realize it was all a trick.
STILL can't believe @johngaudreau03 did this last night! 😱 pic.twitter.com/jYPf5TXaw8
— NHL (@NHL) April 1, 2019
So what was the highlight? The world will never know.
Minnesota players go "wild" with Post-Its
Wild defenseman Matt Dumba and friends decided to pull a rather irritating trick on teammate Joel Eriksson Ek, covering every part of his Audi in thousands of sticky notes (color-coded). And if that wasn't bad enough, he also stuffed the interior with balloons.
Your move @ErikssonEk. #April1st | #AprilFoolsDay2019 | #mnwild pic.twitter.com/iEP7dSv8f8
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 1, 2019
To add insult to injury, looks like Eriksson Ek had to pull all the sticky notes off himself. But as he finished up, he promised revenge.
One Ranger's unintentional April Fools' prank
It's no fun to be pranked on April Fools' Day, and unfortunately, that was Vinni Lettieri. But the worst part? He, in a way, pranked himself. Before their Monday matchup against New Jersey, the Rangers decided to kick the soccer ball around, but while dribbling the ball, Lettieri appeared to kick the ball straight into his face.
Sorry Vin...but not sorry 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Cqq1o7Qrqv
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 1, 2019
"Did you get that?" Cristobal Nieves appeared to ask.
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