Sens just a "Stone's throw" away from playoffs

by Mike Wheeler (words) and Capital Gains (photos)

Mark Stone celebrates his overtime-winning goal, is pelted by stones.
All photos courtesy of Capital Gains.

The Ottawa Senators organization faced a problem two weeks ago as fans began throwing hamburgers onto the ice of the Canadian Tire Centre to celebrate the successes of goaltender Andrew Hammond. Following announcements made in the building and the release of a short public service video, the hamburgers mostly stopped. But Sens fans - who are known for their liveliness and creativity - have recently banded around a new celebratory projectile: stones.

When Mark Stone scored his second goal of the night on Tuesday, the overtime-winner against Pittsburgh in a must-win game, Sens fans took it upon themselves to hurl actual stones onto the ice surface to show their appreciation for the surging rookie. "It's pretty great to be recognized by the fans like this," Stone said, speaking with the media after the game. "I guess they're throwing stones because my name is Stone, right?"

The Sens salute the fans at the CTC and are showered in adoration and actual stones. 

Other players are also being motivated by the newfound fan-interaction. Forward Kyle Turris stated that he is loving the playoff-type atmosphere in the arena lately, "It's just like Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, except instead of food items raining down on us, it's just rocks and stuff." Turris continued, "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs has got to be one of my top-five favourite movies."

Curtis Lazar famously celebrates a win with a "post-game meal."

Surprisingly, not everyone is as enthusiastic about the new victory stonings. Ottawa Senators president Cyril Leeder held an emergency press conference on Wednesday, "It's really actually bad and extremely dangerous. Not only is it damaging the facilities, it's putting the players at great risk. MacArthur got hit right in his concussion-proof tinted visor last night and Lazar picked up a rock and tried to eat it for some reason. The whole situation is really unbelievable."

Naysayers just don't understand that hockey has a proud tradition of throwing stuff.

Coach Dave Cameron said that the stones are just another result of the team's recent success, "They're playing so well, it's now just my job to keep these guys rolling and to keep them loose. Think fast, Robin!" Cameron proceeded to bean goaltender Robin Lehner with a medium-sized rock. Right in the head. "We're having a lot of fun lately."