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Friday, November 12, 1999
Rookie makes his mark
The one (and only) memory many of us will take from last night's game was filed away in the first minute of the first period. And we have Mike Fisher to thank for it.
The Senators' rookie delivered the best hit of the young season at the Corel Centre when he caught Nashville winger Scott Walker with his head down at the Predators' blue line.
Fisher generated "oohhhs" and "ahhhs" from the crowd when he stuck his shoulder under Walker's chin, snapping the winger's head back and putting him flat on the ice. It was a dandy.
Senators fans who love hockey for its body contact miss Lance Pitlick and the bone-jarring body checks he used to deliver.
They also get excited when they talk about the two most punishing hits at the Corel Centre last season: Mike Peca's open-ice belt on Steve Martins as the latter admired his own drop pass and Eric Lindros' controversial crunch on Andreas Dackell.
Fisher gave them another to get worked up about last night.
STOPS AND STARTS: Some of us in the press box were dressed in black for a reason last night. The trade that sent Bruce Gardiner to the Tampa Bay Senators, uh, Lightning, was cause for mourning. Not only did Ottawa lose a player who never did seem to get enough ice time, but reporters lost the best quote on the team ... When Andre Roy and Bob Boughner dropped the gloves in the first period, the Senators' rookie threatened to punch the snot out of the "Boogey Man." But a couple of Roy haymakers just failed to connect ... There are Senators who appear to have a harder shot than Wade Redden, but it's unlikely any have one that is more accurate. His first-period goal was another example of how the guy always gets the puck on the net, although in that case it dinged off the post first.
BETWEEN PERIODS: Racing for a puck behind the Sens' goal on a delayed icing call, D Erich Goldmann, playing his first NHL game, hit the boards so hard Ron Tugnutt waved for a trainer about a half-second after impact. Goldmann, who had played 11 shifts and 8:23 through the first two periods and did not look out of place, was unable to return because of an injury to his "lower right leg" ... So Marshall Johnston, have any ideas on what defenceman to bring in next? Talk about your endangered species, the Senators' blue-line corps is in worse shape than Jacques Martin's back ... Boughner's nose has never been the same since he and the 67's Jeff Ricciardi went toe-to-toe when both were rookies in their first meeting at the Civic Centre a decade ago.
OFF THE POSTS: The Sens heard from the boo-birds at the end of the second period ... Playing in his first game as a Predator, D Bill Houlder's night ended in the opening period when he suffered a concussion after a collision behind the net with Shawn McEachern ... Even the so-called "big hockey fan" could be forgiven for not recognizing five names on the Nashville roster -- Patric Kjellberg, Valicevic, Ville Peltonen, Mark Mowers and Kimmo Timonen. Don't you love the expansion era?
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