The unfortunate incident – which reportedly occurred yesterday as the Pittsburg Penguins battled with the San Jose Sharks for the Stanley Cup – led to speculation on the make and type of lens involved.

Valerie Wutti wrote on Twitter: ‘ow ow ow…looks like the photog’s fisheye. i’ve worried about losing a lens hood but never the whole lens.’

Matt Bush tweeted that it looked like a Canon or a Sigma fisheye.

Based on footage published by sports website SB Nation, it is not clear if the lens fell onto the ice when the camera was struck by the puck, or whether the photographer lost the lens as they placed their camera in a viewing hole in the rink-side shield protecting spectators.

Either way, after the lens had bounced around on the unforgiving ice, it ended up being struck by a Penguins player.

The Penguins won 2-1, although the photographer may have passed caring about the scoreline as they reflected instead on the loss of a prized optic.