Brady Tkachuk offered a wide grin and a power-play goal in his hostile return to Ottawa, but the Florida Panthers dropped a 5-1 decision to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night at Canadian Tire Centre. The loss snapped Florida’s three-game win streak, while Ottawa secured its seventh regulation victory in 10 games behind a complete team performance and a multi-point night from returning defenseman Jake Sanderson.
Ottawa Fans Jeer Brady Tkachuk During Return
Playing his first game back in Ottawa since trading his captain’s “C” to join the Panthers, Brady Tkachuk was greeted by a thunderous chorus of boos and an icy welcome video during the game’s opening television timeout. According to reporting by DAZN, fans in the Ottawa arena directed a vast array of hostile chants at the 27-year-old forward, including “Brady sucks!”, “We don’t need you,” “Little brother,” and “F— you, Brady.” TVA Sports documented an even broader catalog of jeers shouted from the stands, ranging from “Traitor” and “You’re a sellout” to remarks about his podcast and physical appearance.
Despite the hostile environment, Tkachuk capitalized on the game’s first power play exactly halfway through the opening period. Positioned at the edge of the crease while Artem Zub served a tripping penalty, he slid a puck under the pad of goaltender Linus Ullmark off a feed from his brother Matthew Tkachuk. The goal marked the Panthers’ very first shot of the night and gave Florida a brief 1-0 lead. Tkachuk pumped his fist, embraced his celebrating teammates, and shrugged to the crowd. He finished the contest with three minor penalties, picking up two more infractions in the third period as the outcome slipped away, and told DAZN postgame that the intense atmosphere simply reflected the passion of the fan base.
Senators Respond with Five Unanswered Goals
Ottawa wasted little time erasing the deficit. Four minutes after Tkachuk’s opening strike, Sanderson fed Tim Stützle for a power-play marker—Stützle’s sixth goal of the campaign. The tally added extra intrigue to the evening, given that Stützle had publicly noted before the puck dropped that he had not caught up with his former teammate since Tkachuk’s departure and had skipped a dinner Tkachuk hosted for former players the night prior.
Claude Giroux donnait les devants aux Sénateurs en profitant d’un écran parfait de Nick Cousins devant le filet pour gêner le travail du gardien Akira Schmid. Shane Pinto a porté la marque à 3-1 avec 2:42 à faire à l’engagement, alors que Tkachuk était sur la glace. In the third period, Warren Foegele scored his first goal of the season to make it 4-1, and Stephen Halliday capped the scoring with an insurance marker to seal the 5-1 final score.
Ullmark Leaves with Injury as Ottawa Holds Firm
The victory was somewhat dampened in the third period when Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark suffered an injury while stretching his right pad to stop a shot from Brady Tkachuk. Ullmark went down and was escorted directly to the locker room after stopping 16 of 17 shots. Samuel Ersson stepped in relief and stopped the only shot he faced to preserve the win. Sanderson, returning from an eight-game absence, chipped in two assists to anchor the blue line.
Travis Green Praises Senators Composure After Victory
Senators head coach Travis Green, celebrating his first victory since signing a contract extension, lauded his players for maintaining their composure through an emotionally charged evening.
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