# Capitals' forward trapped in penalty box, gets rescued **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 8, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitals-forward-trapped-in-penalty-box-gets-rescued/670644 "2013-10-08T02:40:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitals-forward-trapped-in-penalty-box-gets-rescued/670644/1 "2013-10-08T02:40:46Z")
When the Capitals were having breakfast at their hotel in Dallas, forward Joel Ward excused himself to go to the restaurant [bathroom](http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/24021864/joel-ward-gets-trapped-in-bathroom-stall-is-rescued-by-teammates) – and he never came back. The stall door wouldn’t open and wouldn’t open. He [texted](http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/operation-save-wardo-capitals-joel-ward-dramatic-tender-183546391--nhl.html) his teammates, and they all came in and laughed at him. Ovechkin tweeted “hahaha c’mon maaan !!!hahahahahah”, but apparently most of Ovechkin’s tweets look like that. They couldn’t get the door open, though, and neither could hotel maintenance. Ward was too big a guy to crawl out underneath the stall door. He was stuck in there for 45 minutes listening to other people flush, but at least he had someplace to sit. Finally, someone scrounged up a stepladder, and Ward was able to scramble over the top of the door and – literally – into the embrace of his team. The pictures at the links are worth seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitals-forward-trapped-in-penalty-box-gets-rescued/670644/2 "2013-10-08T02:47:04Z")
That’s awesome! Best story of the season so far! ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitals-forward-trapped-in-penalty-box-gets-rescued/670644/3 "2013-10-08T03:15:19Z")
When you are a muscular 6-foot man weighing 200+ pounds and you can get word to multiple other men of the same size or bigger to help, yet it occurs to none of them that they can just kick the door in anytime they want to, you know you’re talking about hockey players. What a collection of stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitals-forward-trapped-in-penalty-box-gets-rescued/670644/4 "2013-10-08T03:19:00Z")
I disagree; they were smart. Breaking the door down = bad press. Funny ladder story + pics = good press. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitals-forward-trapped-in-penalty-box-gets-rescued/670644/5 "2013-10-08T05:05:40Z")
It’s like surgeons not stopping elevator doors by sticking their hands in – their bodies are too valuable. Imagine going on IR because you broke a toe or wrenched your back freeing Ward from a restroom stall. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitals-forward-trapped-in-penalty-box-gets-rescued/670644/6 "2013-10-08T11:14:28Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > It’s like surgeons not stopping elevator doors by sticking their hands in – their bodies are too valuable. The punchline to that joke is, “They use their heads instead.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitals-forward-trapped-in-penalty-box-gets-rescued/670644/7 "2013-10-08T13:12:00Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > The punchline to that joke is, “They use their heads instead.” 😃 That’s true; I suppose the players here could have tried to bite through the door with their teeth. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitals-forward-trapped-in-penalty-box-gets-rescued/670644/8 "2013-10-08T14:04:57Z")
Ward for the shat trick. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitals-forward-trapped-in-penalty-box-gets-rescued/670644/9 "2013-10-08T14:11:05Z")
I never knew a forward could become a substitute gaolie. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitals-forward-trapped-in-penalty-box-gets-rescued/670644/10 "2013-10-08T16:03:57Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > That’s true; I suppose the players here could have tried to bite through the door with their teeth. 🆒 Not teeth, tooth. They are hockey players. 😃