Maybe James Neal just wanted a bonus — from the tooth fairy.

The Calgary Flames forward showed why hockey players should wear mouthguards on Saturday, when TV cameras captured the exact moment he was hit in the mouth with a stick — and the moment several teeth came flying out.

Canucks defenseman Alex Biega tried to hit an airborne puck during the third period and wildly slashed at the air — missing the puck, but connecting with Neal’s mouth. Neal immediately grabbed at his mouth and went down, but not before a few teeth launched out, as an official scooped them up off the ice. Biega would get a high-sticking penalty.

“That’s why there are dentists, right,” Calgary coach Bill Peters told reporters. “I think for every tooth he lost, they got a minor.”

Neal, of course, returned to the ice.