We interrupt this week’s deluge of executive amnesty and Grubergate coverage to bring you this heartwarming Friday afternoon palate cleanser. First, some brief background, from HuffPo:

They may be our biggest rivals on the ice, but when it comes to honouring our American neighbours, Canadians don’t pass up on the opportunity to chime in. The video, filmed Nov. 18, shows the opening of the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. the Nashville Predators hockey game. When Canadian singer Michelle Madeira began the American national anthem, her microphone failed. So what did the Canadian crowd do? They picked up right where she left off.

They sure did, and impressively so:

They had the lyrics down pat and didn’t miss a beat. Stirring stuff. Show of hands: How many of you know the words to the Canadian national anthem? I happen to, but that’s mostly a product of being exposed to it so many times as a hockey fan (go Devils). I’ll leave you with this clip from an NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers just after the terrorist shootings in Ottawa last month. Even though a Canadian team wasn’t competing on the ice, the pregame ceremony featured a moving rendition of ‘O Canada’, with the American crowd singing along (admittedly with lyrics displayed on the jumbotron) in solidarity with our great friends and neighbors to the north:

We stand on guard for thee!