The Ottawa Senators are staring elimination right in the face. After Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3, Ottawa now trails 3-0 in its first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, essentially in do-or-die territory heading into Game 4 at Canadian Tire Centre. And captain Brady Tkachuk isn’t hiding from the reality of it.
Brady Tkachuk Makes Feelings Clear on Senators’ Slide
Game 3 was another gut punch for Ottawa. Carolina struck first when Logan Stankoven opened the scoring just over five minutes into the first period, finishing off a strong sequence that gave the Hurricanes an early 1-0 edge.
The Senators fought back in the second when Drake Batherson buried the equalizer late in the frame, seemingly shifting momentum. But it lasted only moments.
On Carolina’s very next shot, Jackson Blake finished off a crisp passing play to restore the Hurricanes’ lead, and it held up as the game-winner in a 2-1 Carolina victory.
For Tkachuk, the loss was difficult to swallow. “It’s pretty frustrating, but we got to find a way. When things don’t go your way, I mean, we’ve never quit all season. Just got to step up to the occasion,” Tkachuk said.
That frustration was perhaps most evident on Ottawa’s golden opportunity in the second period.
With Carolina defenseman Jalen Chatfield in the box, the Senators had a 5-on-3 power play chance to swing the game, and failed to record a single shot. Tkachuk summed it up in two blunt words: “poor execution.”
It was the kind of missed opportunity that can haunt a team in the playoffs.
Despite the deficit, Tkachuk made clear he doesn’t believe Ottawa is done. His message heading into Game 4 was simple.
“Not out of it,” Brady said. “The hardest one to win is the fourth one. So now it’s where we were in this position last year. So, for us it’s do or die, just give absolutely everything we have, which we always do, but no I mean it’s frustrating now but fourth one’s the hardest to win, and I believe in this group, so it’s going to make a hell of a story.”
Ottawa fought hard just to get here, earning the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 44-27-11 record and 99 points before drawing the top-seeded Hurricanes.
Through three games, they’ve been competitive, but Carolina has found ways to finish. The Hurricanes took Game 1 by a 2-0 score, then survived a double-overtime thriller in Game 2, winning 3-2 after Frederik Andersen denied Tkachuk on a potential winner. Game 3 was another tight-checking battle, with neither side scoring in the third, but once again, Ottawa came up short.
Now all eyes turn to Game 4. The Hurricanes are one win from a sweep, while the Senators are fighting to keep their season alive.
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And with Tkachuk refusing to believe it’s over, Ottawa still thinks there may be one more chapter left to write.
