Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk still projected confidence despite his team going 2-0 down in the first-round playoff series against archrivals the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tkachuk spoke to the media after the Senators’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday, April 23.
The series has been dubbed the playoff ‘Battle of Ontario’ given the history between the two franchises.
Brady Tkachuk Looking Forward to Home Ice Games
After two straight losses at the Maple Leafs’ Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the action shifts to the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa for the next two games. Tkachuk told reporters in a postgame interview that the team was ready to kick off a comeback in front of a home crowd.
“There’s not one ounce of panic, doubt in this locker room. Just shows how much we’re going to need this city, how much we’re going to need the CTC to be buzzing. We’re looking forward to getting home & honestly there’s not one ounce of panic,” Tkachuk said.
Maple Leafs forward Max Domi scored the game-winner at 3:09 into overtime in a closely fought contest. He collected a pass from teammate Simon Benoit before beating the Senators’ goalie’s blocker with a wrist shot.
“It was heck of a play by Benoit, he made that whole thing happen,” Domi said via NHL.com. “Got a little lucky when it squeaked through. I’m not sure who it was, but you get inside the hash marks in the middle of the ice, you just have to shoot it. Ullmark is a heck of a goalie, but we will take it.”
Maple Leafs forward John Tavares and defenseman Morgan Rielly were the other scorers on the night. Goalie Anthony Stolarz had another solid game between the pipes, making 26 saves on the night.
“The first period was really good, I liked our start a lot,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said after the game. “We came out playing on our toes, got to our forecheck. We were aggressive, we got out to a good lead and the power play came through again.
Second period, I thought they were the better team. We didn’t make plays. We looked like we were protecting the lead a little bit, didn’t make enough plays, didn’t advance it and get to the offensive zone enough. … The third period was fine, we were in good shape. The goal was the first shot we gave up in the third period.”
Brady Tkachuk and Adam Gaudette scored for the Senators, and goalie Linus Ullmark made 18 saves. The Ottawa team had also lost Game 1 in the series 6-2 on Sunday, April 20.