FATHER KNOWS BEST
In March, Msgr. Joseph Muldoon gave advice to Senators coach Dave Cameron about keeping Andrew Hammond in goal. We followed up with him about whether to stay with Hammond — yes, he says — and whether to seek retribution for the Subban slash (that’s a no).
So, seek revenge? Or turn the other forearm? We could think of no better authority on such a weighty moral matter than Msgr. Joseph Muldoon, the Stittsville pastor who last month urged parishioner Dave Cameron, the Senators’ coach, to “start the young fella.” Cameron did indeed start call up goaltender Andrew Hammond (not that young, at 27), and the team continued on a run many have labelled miraculous.
On the vengeance subject, Msgr. Muldoon (a Hollywoodworthy name, you’ll agree) turns out to be of equally firm opinion: stay with the same fast, clean hockey that has taken the Sens this far.
“I think they’ve been playing it fairly and squarely, and that’s what they intended to do last night,” he said Thursday.
Not that the monsignor didn’t wince when he saw P.K. Subban’s Game of Thrones-worthy whack to Mark Stone’s wrist.
But what about the Flying Fathers, that touring squad of hockey-playing Roman Catholic priests known for sneaky shots and high elbows? “They played a pretty rough and tough game if you know the Smiths — Father Basil Smith was on the team, and I think his brother was the goalie,” Muldoon conceded from his office at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. “They did more antics, but this last night looked like it was intentional. He used his stick as a weapon — that was my take on it.”
Second question. Should Cameron substitute Craig Anderson (33, grizzled) for Game 2 or stick with Hammond? Muldoon still backs the young fella.
“I’d keep him in net. He didn’t have much of a chance on several of those goals last night.”
VILLAINS WE HAVE KNOWN
P.K. Subban is the bad guy du jour — and guaranteed a hostile reception whenever he steps on the Canadian Tire Centre ice for Games 3 and 4 — but the Senators have encountered many other villains over the years. Among them:
Brian Boyle: The 6-foot-7 centre for the New York Rangers punched the significantly shorter Erik Karlsson in the head four times, after the whistle blew, during the opener of the firstround Sens-Rangers playoff series in 2012. Karlsson didn’t respond, figuring his team would get a power player. Instead, both players got roughing penalties. Next game, the Sens’ Matt Carkner dropped his gloves and gave Boyle a rat-a-tat-tat for the “liberties” he took with Karlsson, and maybe for Boyle’s Oilcan Harry-style moustache.
Harry Neale: The CBC colour commentator and his Hockey Night in Canada cohorts were widely perceived — in these parts, anyway — to hold a pro-Toronto Maple Leafs bias during playoff series between the clubs in the early 2000s. Ottawa’s then mayor, Bob Chiarelli, even publicly called out Neale, play-by-play announcer Bob Cole and the rest of the HNIC crew for favouring the Leafs. Responded Neale: “If it isn’t good enough for Ottawa, they can take a big bite of my ass.”
Tie Domi: We could as easily cite Gary Roberts or Joe Nieuwendyk or Steve Thomas as Maple Leafs detested for their uncanny successes against the Sens. But the elbow-tossing Domi was forever the Leaf we most loved to hate.
Elliotte Friedman: What, the smartest observer in hockey now Ottawa persona non grata? Well, probably not yet. But the Hockey Night in Canada analyst likely lost a few admirers for his between periods observations Wednesday on whether Mark Stone was embellishing his injury. On the other hand, we feel safe in suggesting that George Stroumboulopoulos, another participant in that discussion, suffered no further decline in the estimation of viewers.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR GOOD-LUCK RITUALS
We in the Bandwagon household blame ourselves.
Forever, we’ve risen from the couch to stand reverentially before the Panasonic while the anthem is performed before Sens’ playoff games. Should we be wearing hats, we remove them.
Wednesday night, we did not stand.
SENS’ LOSS IS OUR FAULT
And maybe yours, too. Do you have a game-day ritual you perhaps failed to follow for the series opener? Something you wear, or say, or do, or don’t do?
Or did you faithfully perform your playoff practice, only to see the Senators lose by a goal because we didn’t perform our ritual?
Either way, we want to know about your special game-day habits, and whether you’re considering any alterations that could change the Sens’ luck.
You can get our attention via the email address below. Just not, from now on, during the anthem.
WATCH ON THE BIG SCREEN
Reminder: The Canadian Tire Centre is open Friday night for fans to watch Game 2 on the digital scoreboard. Admission and parking are free. The Ottawa Senators Foundation will be collecting donations of non-perishable food items for the Ottawa and Stittsville food banks and Kanata Food Cupboard.
FORTY-ONE THOUSAND AND FIVE *
* Number of times in the postseason we’ve already seen the Tim Hortons “coffee tasters” commercial. (OK, it’s only been once or twice, but it feels like 41,005.)
Got a photo/tip/tidbit for the Bandwagon? Write to rbostelaar@ottawacitizen.com