OTTAWA — Brady Tkachuk scored his most important goal of the season Monday night. The goal itself wasn’t anything too special compared to what we’ve seen before from Tkachuk: A nice passing play resulting in a goal from the bumper spot on the power play, followed by a celebratory embrace with his linemate Tim Stützle.
Put the Tkaptain™️ stamp on this one!#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/fqT6W26PEz
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) November 26, 2024
It was just a little less emphatic than his celebration on a disallowed first-period goal due to goaltender interference where he made two fist pumps.
“Just a relief I guess,” Tkachuk said after the game. “Just needed a goal there to create a little cushion for our team and just wanted to capitalize on our power plays.”
The Senators captain’s leadership had come under fire during the Senators’ five-game losing streak, which ended Monday with a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Specifically, Tkachuk’s emotional responses on and off the ice that sometimes lead to penalties and fights. The word immature has been used to describe this young Sens core before, and Tkachuk himself has even discussed it after the team looked disengaged in some of its recent losses.
“I think everybody around here knows that — we know that — we’re a good team,” Tkachuk said last week. “It’s just a matter of doing it day in and day out and just no more bulls— excuses.”
Following the loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, Tkachuk seemed to take the loss hard as he was the last to step off the ice.
Brady last off the ice 🙁 pic.twitter.com/MXKJ7Z6BwN
— Kevin Lee (@BringBackLee) November 22, 2024
On Saturday, with the Senators down 4-1 in the third period, Tkachuk scrapped with Canucks forward Dakota Joshua. An early trip to the dressing room with another loss in view drew more criticism. Ottawa scored twice in his absence before losing 4-3 to Vancouver.
Entering Monday night’s game, the heat was turned up on the Senators. The losing streak had caused some fans to wonder if the team’s core was good enough to compete and if Tkachuk’s leadership style was the right one to lead Ottawa to success. In light of that criticism, Senators head coach Travis Green defended his captain with a passionate speech on Monday morning.
“I’ve heard the chatter a little bit,” Green said. “We’re lucky to have this guy, for starters. He’s a skilled hockey player. He’s tough, he’s mean. He cares passionately about winning, about winning in Ottawa. And he’s a very good hockey player. Whether you were playing peewee hockey, junior hockey, the American League. Any league, any world, you’d want a player like this on your hockey team. I don’t think it’s fair. Is he perfect? No. There are not many perfect players in the world, if any. But sometimes when you have something for a little while, you kind of forget what you have. And I think the Ottawa Senators are lucky to have this guy. I don’t think it’s fair, the chatter. Is he going to make mistakes? Hell yeah. Every player does. I would probably take a step back from that because I don’t think it’s fair.
“Sometimes you’ve got to light a fire under a guy’s ass and try to get him to play hard. I’d much rather have a guy that plays extremely hard and teach him when to do it and when not to do it. I think people forget this guy’s a young guy still. … To go after a guy because he’s emotional and because he wants to win. Like, really? We want all our players to be emotional and want to win.”
Later that night, Senators owner Michael Andlauer spoke his piece during an interview with Amazon Prime’s Andi Petrillo and Blake Bolden.
“It’s part of the culture I want to exude,” Andlauer said. “I look at our fans. Our fans are grassroot, they’re passionate. Guess what? Our captain is too. When I talk about a culture, I talk about caring more. Work harder than your competition and care more. Care more about each other. Care more about the fans. The man just turned 25 years old. Do you remember how you behaved when you were 25 years old? Let’s understand. We have a very young team and we still have a lot of maturing to do. But, boy, you’ve got to keep that passion. That’s what it’s all about.”
Tkachuk’s teammates have spent the last few days talking up their captain, too.
“I think you saw (Saturday) night, he shows a lot of emotion,” Senators forward David Perron told The Athletic on Sunday. “You always walk that fine line of what is too much? Was it what is not enough? I think it’s great that he plays like that. He plays with a lot of passion.
“He’s not afraid to stand up and kind of put his guts on the table and tell the truth of what he thinks.”
“He puts a lot on himself,” Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson said Monday. “He comes in every single day and he leads us in practice. He brings it in the gym, everywhere he is. You know Brady’s leading us. He was great tonight, great on both sides of the puck and he gets rewarded.”
Tkachuk was one of four Senators who recorded a two-point game in the win over Calgary and he also led the team with five shots on goal. For the second time this season, Tkachuk has power-play goals in back-to-back games. It was an improved performance all around for the Senators, and Tkachuk being at the forefront was sorely needed.
Tkachuk was mostly stoic and even a bit subdued in his answers when speaking with the media postgame. It largely has to do with the mountain the Senators will have to climb to bring their record back to .500 and a three-game California trip on the horizon.
When asked about the criticism he’s faced and his leadership style while enduring it, Tkachuk used the moment to show his dedication to the team.
“I just want to give my blood, sweat and tears to the guys in this room,” Tkachuk said. “And that’s what I feel like I do and pride myself on is giving absolutely everything I have for this team and for this group. You know what, to be honest with you, I didn’t see much of it. It’s kind of been just focusing on the here and now and my teammates.
“To be honest with you, I just care about winning here and just giving absolutely everything I have for this team and the trust I have for my teammates that they’re there for me as well. I always appreciate their support.”
(Top photo of Brady Tkachuk: Chris Tanouye / Freestyle Photography / Getty Images)
