Follow along as we keep you up to date on Senators-Canadiens Game 1. This is the Bandwagon blog, the everyfan’s guide to the Ottawa Senators playoff run. Refresh this page for the latest updates.
10:05 p.m.: Thanks for following our live Bandwagon blog of Game 1, a wild, physical opener for what’s sure to be an exciting series. Look for our live blog of Game 2 on Friday night when the Sens and Habs face off again in Montreal.
10:03 p.m.: Senators press late, but can’t get the tying goal and lose 4-3 to Montreal. The game ends with a giant scrum involving the players on the ice. Carey Price even wanders over and almost takes part. Messages being sent for Game 2 Friday night.
9:57 p.m.: Huge shot block by Brandon Prust, as Clarke MacArthur had a great chance in the slot. Sens call timeout with less than a minute left.
9:49 p.m.: Habs with a couple of close calls on a power play, with Jeff Petry shooting a puck that hit Andrew Hammond and barely dribbled over the net, and then Devante Smith-Pelly hitting the post. But Hammond survives.
9:40 p.m.: Stone is back again. Senators still trailing 4-3 with just over nine minutes left in the third period.
9:30 p.m.: Mark Stone had returned to the game after that slash, but he’s gone again and is getting looked at by a Senators team doctor.
9:20 p.m.: So far, the defining moment of the game (despite all the goals) seems to be P.K. Subban’s slash on Mark Stone. Many Habs fans arguing he didn’t deserve a five-minute major for the slash. See it here:
9:15 p.m.: We wonder who this guy on Sens Mile is cheering for.
Effective, if inelegant #sensmile pic.twitter.com/6ILpdo31xk
— Jonathan.Duncan (@JustDuped) April 16, 2015
9:02 p.m.: The second period ends with Montreal leading 4-3. Shots are 27-26 Canadiens.
Ottawa Senators’ Marc Methot, left, lays a hit on Montreal Canadiens’ Brendan Gallagher during the first period of NHL playoff action at the Bell Centre in Montreal Wednesday April 15, 2015.
9:00 p.m.: Here’s Ottawa’s second period summarized in six seconds:
8:56 p.m.: The wild second period continues as Montreal’s Brian Flynn scores with just under three minutes left in the period. 4-3 Montreal.
8:42 p.m.: The goals are coming fast and furious now. Mika Zibanejad ties the game on the power play. Five goals in less than five minutes.
8:39 p.m.: Lars Eller scores shorthanded for the Canadiens, who lead 3-2.
8:37 p.m.: After sustained pressure on the power play, Kyle Turris absolutely roofs a shot from the slot and ties the game 2-2.
8:36 p.m.: Here’s that slash from Subban on Stone. Subban ejected for the game.
8:33 p.m.: P.K. Subban is given a five-minute major and ejected from the game after a vicious slash on Mark Stone.
8:28 p.m.: Fifteen seconds after Mitchell’s goal, Tomas Plekanec blasts down the wing and scores. 2-1 Montreal. But off the draw, Lars Eller butt-ends Mika Zibanejad in the face and gets a penalty.
8:27 p.m.: After a back-and-forth period, Torrey Mitchell scores for the Canadiens to tie the game at 1-1.
8:05 p.m.: Some fan photos from Sens Mile tonight as Ottawa fans gather to cheer the Senators on in Game 1.
Marc-Andre Gaudreau and JP Gosselin show their team spirit during FanJam 2015 prior to the start of game one between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators in Montreal Wednesday April 15, 2015. (Darren Brown/Ottawa Citizen)
From left, Fernando Medeiros, Mike Medeiros, Jason Thompson and Mano Dellavedova show their Sens spirit during FanJam 2015 prior to the start of game one between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators in Montreal Wednesday April 15, 2015. (Darren Brown/Ottawa Citizen)
7:52 p.m.: After the first period, the Senators lead the Canadiens 1-0. Shots are 9-8 Ottawa.
7:48 p.m.: Here’s a look at the 1-0 goal.
7:46 p.m.: Habs forward Brendan Gallagher getting a lot of attention from the Ottawa defence. Marc Methot earlier, and just now Mark Borowiecki took him down after a protracted battle in front of the Senators net.
7:38 p.m.: Puck takes a weird bounce off the boards, off Canadiens defenceman Andrei Markov’s stick and into the Canadiens net. Milan Michalek gets credit. The goal has changed the mood at the Bell Centre:
And it's 1-0 Sens. Fans in disbelief here. Agonizing goal to give up.
— Wayne Scanlan (@HockeyScanner) April 15, 2015
7:32 p.m.: Sens fail to score on an early power play, but the Stone-Turris-MacArthur line controls the play for a good minute or so after the penalty ends, leading to some good pressure. Still 0-0 halfway through the first period.
7:22 p.m.: Good early pace to this one, including a massive save by Hammond on Torrey Mitchell, who walked in alone.
7:16 p.m.: Montreal fans doing their best to distract Andrew Hammond early with “Hammond, Hammond” chants in the first few minutes.
7:10 p.m.: In a classy move, the Canadiens hold a moment of silence for Senators assistant coach Mark Reeds, who passed away on Tuesday after a battle with cancer.
6:55 p.m.: The Senators will be wearing “MR” helmet decals tonight in honour of Reeds. The coaching staff will also be wearing pins to honour Reeds.
In addition to helmet decals, all #Sens staff will be wearing these pins tonight. #letswinitall pic.twitter.com/bLjipnM1Gp
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) April 15, 2015
6:47 p.m.: All-star goalie and expert tweeter Roberto Luongo is a Hamburglar fan, it seems (#jkjk):
The thing I'm most looking forward to watching in the 1st round is the matchup between the best goalie in the world and Carey Price… #jkjk
— Strombone (@strombone1) April 15, 2015
6:36 p.m.: Sens Mile is already bumpin’, with fans flocking to Elgin Street after work to get seats to watch the game. We have a reporter there:
Kevin Berry (right) is calling it now: 3-1 Ottawa. He's on the hunt for a nice warm spot "We're late-game thinkers" pic.twitter.com/LzDI8boTum
— Jonathan.Duncan (@JustDuped) April 15, 2015
St Louis pub's patio is bumping on the Sens mile. Few big screens outside. pic.twitter.com/ypUypPu2Dd
— Jonathan.Duncan (@JustDuped) April 15, 2015
6:30 p.m.: Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be rinkside for the Senators’ warm-up? For the last couple of weeks, the Senators have been live-streaming the warm-up on Periscope, Twitter’s new live video streaming service. You can get the app for your phone or watch the warm-up on your computer by going here.
City council (almost) united in red
Still on crutches after his snowmobile mishap, Mayor Jim Watson can’t take to the ice for the Senators — even if he did learn to skate this past winter. But the mayor remains an enthusiastic supporter, betting Montreal counterpart Denis Coderre a BeaverTail against some smoked meat that the Sens will prevail over the Habs, and asking all Ottawa councillors to wear “Sens clothing” to their meeting Tuesday. All but one did (although Beacon Hill-Cyrville’s Tim Tierney threatened via Twitter to attend in his Senators pyjamas).
The lone councillor in civvies was Rideau-Goulbourn’s Scott Moffatt, a dyed-in-the-blue-wool Leafs fan. So why not wear the maple leaf instead of the centurion? “I’d never do that,” said Moffatt, who strives to keep the Ontario rivalry on a respectful basis. His nine-year-old son, he confides, plays for the Osgoode Rideau Senators, which has the same “Go Sens Go” cheer as the NHL club. “I have trouble pushing those words out,” Moffatt said, laughing.
Player 61 revisited
During the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, Canadiens coach Michel Therrien argued it was disrespectful of then Senators coach Paul MacLean to refer to Montreal defenceman Raphael Diaz as “Player 61,” rather than by his name. During the subsequent 2013-14 season, Diaz would wear not only that number, but also No. 24 with the Vancouver Canucks and No. 4 with the New York Rangers. This past season, he has worn No. 33 with the Calgary Flames. There is no No. 61 on the Canadiens’ current roster, but there will be one on the ice for the Senators: rookie winger Mark Stone.
More than passing resemblance: Film director Quentin Tarantino, left, and Ottawa Senator Mark Stone.
Separated at birth?
As first noticed by the team behind the Citizen’s tablet edition (A rich evening news magazine! Delivered free to your iPad!), that same Mark Stone bears a remarkable resemblance to film director Quentin Tarantino, known for his artsy, violent films (Django Unchained, Kill Bill). So what does it mean? “Nothing,” wrote our tableteers, “but it’s uncanny.”
More than a few faulty forecasts
Hockey experts are wise in October, hilarious in April. Hindsight is not just 20/20 but funny/funny.
In October, The Hockey News made its predictions for the 2014/15 season. It picked the Boston Bruins to win the Atlantic Division and the Ottawa Senators to finish seventh, only ahead of Buffalo. Oopsies. And they call it the Bible of hockey (hello, Book of Revelation!) Of its eight forecast playoff teams from the east, it missed three: Ottawa, the Islanders and Detroit.
The staff at Sportsnet must be hitting control, alt, DELETE on its prediction panel. It ranked the 30 NHL teams in October by “crunching the numbers” and running the results through its “hockey brain trust.” Ottawa was ranked 26th, when it actually finished the season tied for 13th, with 99 points. Well, 26 divided by two: guess they were half right.
And Earth to NHL Network analysts: All five, including guys named Melrose and Weekes, picked Boston to win the Atlantic Division and four of them chose the L.A. Kings to win the Stanley Cup. It’s called California dreaming.
We’ll give the last word to Sens owner Eugene “Ouija” Melnyk, who had this to say, last August:
“There’s no question in our minds and, I think, in all the players’ minds, that we have the potential to be, not only in the playoffs, but to be competitive for the whole year,” he said. “Once the playoff starts, everyone knows what happens … anything can happen. So, that’s the first step. Let’s get into the playoffs and let it run from there.”
Let it run. Wow. Hasn’t it just?
Where their loyalties lie:
.@Senators All Starfleet captains love the Canadiens… @WilliamShatner #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/fqSSKNYnQd
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 15, 2015
Should never underestimate Senators but I pick the Habs in 6! @CanadiensMTL #cdnpoli @Senators Go Habs Go!
— Patrick Brazeau (@senatorbrazeau) April 15, 2015
. @JimWatsonOttawa in his #Sens sweater. #ottnews pic.twitter.com/3TEKM1ry1p
— Matthew Pearson (@mpearson78) April 15, 2015
Feed a fever
Fans who crowded into the Canadian Tire Centre to watch Saturday’s Sens-Flyers game on the big screen brought along more than 11,000 pounds of food donations for the Ottawa Food Bank, or one pound per person in attendance (that’s 450 grams for you metricians). The rink will again be open Friday night for fans to watch Game 2 in the Ottawa-Montreal series, with the Ottawa Senators Foundation asking for donations of non-perishable food items for the Ottawa and Stittsville food banks and Kanata Food Cupboard.
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Marking his memory
A few hours before Game 1, the Senators unveiled an addition to their helmets — decals bearings the initials “MR,” in memory of assistant coach Mark Reeds, 55, who died Tuesday morning. The decals will be there for the duration of the playoffs.
Recommended reading:
Bruce Deachman asked young (Grades 5 to 8) hockey players for their takes on the Sens-Habs series, and heard some cogent analysis.
It’s Hammy time! Melissa Novacaska finds three eateries with Andrew Hammond-inspired burgers.
If you haven’t already, check out Bruce Deachman’s and Andrew King’s Hockeyland Who’s Who’s and tell us if you see anyone you recognize.
Follow that tweeter
As the team’s official account, @senators is necessarily more, shall we say, dignified than some of the independent Sens tweeters out there. So if you want cheap shots and salty language, look elsewhere. But for interesting Sens info and even the occasional friendly zinger (“Customs asked if we had anything to declare … WE’RE IN THE PLAYOFFS”), this is a great source. And during games, it’s super speedy with news of goals, penalties, etc., a fine thing for those following along by smartphone. Plus, @senators is currently helping @CanadianTire hand out free #CTRaceToThePlayoffs tickets. You need only compete with 267,000 other followers!
With files from Gord Holder and Kelly Egan
Got a photo/tip/tidbit for the Bandwagon? Write to rbostelaar@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/robt_bostelaar