After scoring the overtime winner in his first game back from a stint in COVID-19 protocol, not even an octopus could cramp San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture's style against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.

The incident in question occurred under a minute into overtime when a fan tossed an octopus at center ice while play was in the Sharks' end. After San Jose had control of the puck, Couture seemingly directed the linesman's attention toward the tentacled intruder before the official swept it out of harm's way.

Play continued, and Couture eventually banged the puck past Detroit netminder Alex Nedeljkovic at the goal line to complete the 3-2 victory.

"It was weird because the crowd was screaming and yelling, and I didn't know what was going on," Couture said, according to Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka. "I looked up; I thought there was a jersey on the ice. Then I got closer and saw it was an octopus."

The goal was reviewed for a potential offside call, but the octopus certainly had something to do with it.

"I went over to the ref, and he said, 'We're making sure that the octopus wasn't part of the play,'" Couture said, according to San Jose Hockey Now's Sheng Peng.

Tossing an octopus onto the ice is a beloved tradition in Red Wings history, but the ritual looked a little out of place at San Jose's SAP Center.

"It's something you don't see every day. It's their tradition. But I guess it brought us luck today," Sharks forward Timo Meier said after the game, according to Peng.

Couture, 32, had missed the Sharks' previous three contests after landing on the NHL's COVID-19 list on Jan. 4.

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