Sens fans share playoff superstitions ahead of Game 3

Sens head coach Guy Boucher has no time for superstitions.

"I'm not superstitious. Actually, I love to go against superstition. I hate to be a slave to any superstition … We control how we think and how we feel," said Boucher at a media availability earlier in the playoffs.

Try telling that to some players — and fans — for that matter.

According to Andrew Podnieks, author of Hockey Superstitions: From Playoff Beards to Crossed Sticks and Lucky Socks, playoff superstitions take many forms: Sidney Crosby doesn't talk to his mom on game day, Wayne Gretzky made a point of missing his first warm-up shot, and perhaps most popular, is the playoff beard.

"The funny thing about the beards is that every year they work for one team and don't work for 15 teams," he told the CBC, of the tradition that began in 1980 when the New York Islanders grew beards for the playoffs and went on to win four straight Stanley Cups.

"There has to be a day," that teams stop growing them, he said. "Who's going to be that player to say to his team 'Let's not grow a beard'?"

Sens fans share 

Ottawa filmmaker Nate Estabrooks — @nate_sbrooks on Twitter — ran a half marathon every game day during the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs to calm his nerves. But he stopped in the final round against Anaheim because his feet couldn't handle it.

"I blame myself."

This year, though, Estabrooks sees his superstitions rubbing off on his seven-year-old daughter, whose Sens jersey was laundered on game day against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"(She) had been carrying her jersey around with her for two weeks. When the Sens lost Monday her first deduction was it was due to laundry day."

Sarah Cybulski — @MrsOsSens on Twitter — blames herself too:

Then there's Phil Robitaille — @gimmemyjetpack on Twitter — who shared the story of his father, and a hot dog shot from a cannon: 

Ken Hunter, a longtime Sens fan living in Edmonton, takes his superstitions into next-level territory. 

Here's his game-day routine:

Wakes up in Sens pyjamas. Showers without washing hair or shaving. (Hair washing is for non game days. 

Eats yogurt and granola for breakfast. Hugs both daughters with a single kiss on both their foreheads.

Rubs the Sens decal on his car before getting in. Strokes the Sens steering wheel cover while saying a prayer to the Sens rear-view mirror ornaments.

Does an act of kindness (such as buying someone a coffee).

Stays focused throughout the day: Any daydreaming will translate to a Sens player daydreaming and that can cost a goal.

Remains humble in conversations throughout the day as getting too confident has lead to losses in the past.

Includes an apple and one other fruit or vegetable in lunch.

Dropped chicken dish after Boston series. Now eats Canadian pizza on game day in memory of the pizza line (of Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza) and to bring the cup back to Canada.

Wears the centurion gear brings more luck than the O. (He wore the heritage jersey in the team's loss to Pittsburgh. "The guilt and shame for that loss weighs on me.")

His daughters wear their Ryan and Karlsson jerseys. 

Wears a selection of shirts, pants, socks that, he says, have each proven their worthiness in the luck performances. 

Family gets in place before the anthems. Getting up for drinks or the washroom, he says, has lead to catastrophic consequences in the past. Movement during intermission is allowed for others but not for me.

Hunter's wife sits to his right on the adjoining love seat under a blanket. Daughters sit to his left clutching their Spartacats on the couch.

In overtime, family permitted to leave seats for hugs and cheers.