NBC rinkside reporter Pierre McGuire is presumably allowed to leave his spot between the benches; we just can't picture him anywhere else. But a series of photos shows that Pierre does need the occasional escape—and it's not that easy for him to get back in.
Kelly Thomas Reardon, of hockey blog Dry Island Castaways, shared the below photo of Pierre humping his way back into his box, and it's made the internet rounds. He was kind of enough to send us nine more snaps of that moment, which we've turned into the gif above.
Reardon puts it in context:
I was in attendance at the United Center in Chicago for Game 5 and during the 1st period, I saw Pierre McGuire “climbing” (I use the term loosely) over the boards to get off the ice, presumably for a potty break. I instantly died laughing. I tried to grab my camera to capture this amazing moment, but wasn’t fast enough.
Flash forward to the 3rd period.
I had been keeping an eye on Pierre ever since that moment because I wanted to make sure I captured it the next time it happened. I see him shuffling along the ice heading back towards his little glass box and got prepared. I snapped about a dozen pictures in under 2 seconds of him getting over the boards. I was laughing so hard while taking them that the last 3 or 4 were unsalvageable because I was shaking so hard with laughter.
We will never be able to look at Pierre the same way again.