When Kings fan Dylan Smith went with his girlfriend Emma to watch the Los Angeles Kings face off against the Edmonton Oilers for Game Three on Friday, the couple was prepared for plenty of excitement. But when they went down to watch the Kings during warmups, that action got a little too real when a puck shot by Kings center Gabriel Vilardi hit Emma directly in the head.

With Emma okay and recovering before the game, word got out to Vilardi about her injury. The Kings forward wasn’t going to let her leave empty-handed.

Both Emma and Dylan got the surprise of a lifetime when they were told by staff Vilardi had gifted them a stick, complete with his own personal apology.

My gf got smoked in the head with a Vilardi puck during warmups – he gave her a signed stick apologizing. @LAKings pic.twitter.com/l7ECkb2o4F

— dylan smith (@_dylansmith8) April 22, 2023

“Sorry I smoked you in the head :(,” Vilardi wrote on the stick. It was a kind gesture after a harrowing moment.

“It was definitely a scary experience, but honestly some pretty good things came out of it,” Emma told RMNB. “Vilardi’s gesture was super nice and now I have a great story to tell for the rest of my life.”

Neither Emma nor Dylan realized at first what had happened when she was hit.

“She doesn’t really remember it happening,” Emma’s boyfriend Dylan told us. “She just remembers feeling a lot of pressure on her head, and then I put the pieces together when I saw the puck sitting right at my feet.

“We did get the puck,” he added, “a nice fan next to us handed it to me as I was holding her helping her go up the aisle stairs to the ushers.”

The two were quickly whisked to guest services to make sure Emma was okay. Once they confirmed the puck hadn’t done any serious damage, Emma was insistent that they stick around.

She’s okay! She insisted on staying to watch the rest of the game too. He owed her a point

— dylan smith (@_dylansmith8) April 22, 2023

Even if no lasting damage was done, the Kings made sure that Emma and Dylan were taken care of, upgrading their tickets to 100-level seats. Vilardi later passed along the signed stick for the two to pick up postgame.

Before that, though, the Kings had a game to play. Vilardi himself would go on to assist on the overtime winner, though a lengthy high-stick review nearly called the goal back.

“My reaction was crazy, I was so excited to see them win,” Dylan said of the overtime goal. “My girlfriend’s head was hurting a little bit still, so she wasn’t as excited, but I think that’s a fair reaction.”

After the game, Dylan posted the photo to Twitter, where it quickly went viral in hockey circles. The photo has since garnered over 4,000 likes, a reaction Dylan wasn’t expecting.

“We were both really shocked about the viral tweet,” he said, “I only have 60 twitter followers, but I am really involved on Kings twitter, with a lot of accounts that have large followings.

“I think the coolest retweet was Gustl Kopitar, Anže Kopitar’s dog. I’ve followed that account for years on various social media accounts, so it was cool seeing that.”

Thankfully, Emma is feeling better a few days after the incident.

“A little sore, but no concussion symptoms or anything,” said Dylan, “Just a typical, puck to the head pain.”

Headline photo: @_dylansmith8/Twitter