Brady Tkachuk feels like he closed a chapter and can now focus on what’s ahead. He made his much-anticipated return to Ottawa to face his former teammates for the first time as a member of the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night. Senators fans made it clear that Tkachuk was in hostile territory and they never let up. He was booed from the time he stepped on the ice in warm-ups to when he left the game after Ottawa’s 5-1 win. Some fans threw Tkachuk jerseys on the ice and the sellout crowd had derogatory chants going throughout the night. Tkachuk was booed for the entirety of his tribute video during the first TV timeout, but seemed to relish the fan reaction. He stepped on to the ice, raised his stick and waved to the crowd with a grin on his face. Tkachuk laughed it off after the game. “It was good,” he said. “Shows the passion that they have. One chapter closed and like I said, just an exciting new chapter that we’re living in, so it was nice being a part of this passionate fan base.” Earlier in the day, Tkachuk said he would always hold fond memories of the nation’s capital. Asked after the loss if he still felt the same way, he smiled and said, “Yeah, absolutely.” “I mean, it’s a lot of great moments,” he said. “There’s a lot of ups and downs, but yeah, nothing but great things that I’ve experienced here and that my family experienced as well.” Tkachuk added it felt strange to face his former team. “Those are my teammates not too long ago, so a new experience,” he said. “A once in a lifetime experience in that moment, so just tried having as much fun as I could.” Tkachuk got the Panthers off to a strong start by scoring a power-play goal on Florida’s first shot of the game. It was the only time they had anything to celebrate. The Senators played their most complete game of the season, fed off the energy in the building and got better as the game went on. While Tkachuk and the Panthers often got caught up in the emotion of the game, the Senators kept their control and benefited by drawing a couple penalties. “Guys were just focused on getting the win and making sure we play hard and we had a game plan and we followed it,” said Ottawa veteran Claude Giroux. While the Senators said they weren’t trying to send a message to Tkachuk, there was no denying their desire to win this game. “I thought that’s the best we could have played,” said Shane Pinto, who scored Ottawa’s third goal. Pinto spoke about the team effort and the willingness to do whatever it took to win. “I think all of us took a hit tonight to make a play tonight,” added Pinto. “I think that’s how we had to break out the puck and everyone bought into that and I think that was the mindset all night from everyone.” Senators coach Travis Green said it’s a rarity to be able to look up and down your lineup and like every single player’s contribution, but that was exactly the case Wednesday. “Someone said there was going to be a lot of juice in this game, and you know our guys were ready for it, and they handled it,” said Green. “It was a hard-fought game, and we played an excellent game tonight.” One disappointment for the Senators was seeing Linus Ullmark leave the game early in the third period. He made a pad save on Tkachuk and seemed to grab the back of his leg in pain and required assistance leaving the ice. Green said he didn’t have much to share other than Ullmark left the game with a lower-body strain and would be re-evaluated Thursday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 21, 2026. Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press
