Senators expect to learn from ‘devastating’ Eastern 1st Round loss

OTTAWA -- Brady Tkachuk was on the verge of tears.

The Ottawa Senators captain is not normally known as a quiet, reserved guy, but after a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Thursday, which eliminated them from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he could manage to speak at a level barely louder than a murmur.

“It’s devastating, we really believed,” Tkachuk said. “It’s a tough pill to swallow right now. I’m really proud of this team. … It takes will, takes guts to get the job done, but I think we have to take these lessons and be that much better because of it. It’s tough to realize right now, but everything happens for a reason and we will be better because of it.”

It was a long wait, seven seasons since he entered the NHL in 2018-19, for Tkachuk to get his first taste of playoff hockey. But you’d never have known it was by watching him.

Tkachuk led the Senators with seven points (four goals, three assists) in six games, earning at least a point in all but Game 1. In Game 6, it was his deflection of Thomas Chabot’s point shot that cut Toronto’s lead to 2-1 at 7:28 of the second period. David Perron would eventually tie it 2-2 at 12:40 of the third before Max Pacioretty responded 1:41 later with the eventual game-winning goal for Toronto.

For goalie Linus Ullmark, who made 19 saves in Game 6, there were tears.

“Devastation, sadness,” he said of his thoughts as the final buzzer went, signaling the end of the Senators season. “You start crying right away because when you leave it all on the line and you don’t get it and you’re really invested in it, it’s devastating in a way and then you see everybody you go to war with every day and you feel that responsibility that if I made another save, it’s something as a goaltender you can’t shy away from.”

As the Senators gathered at center ice to salute the crowd at Canadian Tire Centre after the game, the fans responded with a standing ovation and began chanting, “Brady! Brady! Brady!”

You could feel the ardent admiration the crowd of more than 19,000 had for the team and their captain. And for Tkachuk, the feeling was mutual.

“Just to feel the support, it’s been a long eight years for them and to experience it, honestly, they don’t really realize the impact it’s made on me and this team and just really wanted to do it for them,” he said. “They were absolutely amazing. I know it [stinks] right now, but I really can’t wait for what the future holds.

“They came out and did their job. It’s going to be a long couple months here, but me and the rest of the group are going to come with a lot of fire next year.”

This season marked the first time the Senators made the playoffs since losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in 2017. For many of Ottawa’s core players, including Tkachuk, Chabot, Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, Drake Batherson, Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig and Artem Zub, it was their first exposure to playoff hockey.

They looked overwhelmed at times in a 6-2 loss in Game 1, though the Senators showed swift improvement. They pushed the next three games to overtime, losing the first two before staying alive when Sanderson scored in the extra period in Game 4 for a 4-3 win. They were undisputedly the better team in a 4-0 win in Game 5 in Toronto.

They had earned their confidence coming into Game 6.

“Down 3-0, a lot of teams could have just folded but we stuck together, went right back at them,” Chabot said. “We came back home and thought for sure we were going to bring it back to Toronto.”

Perron, a veteran of 110 playoff games, said the validation of finally reaching the playoffs and pushing the Maple Leafs, who finished first in the Atlantic Division, as hard as they did, will only benefit them in the future.

“It’s everything,” Perron said. “Finally for a lot of them they can say they played and nobody can doubt they’re good players and good leaders. Everybody showed up at the right time of the year.”

Ullmark agreed.

“It was very important for us to be able to get in,” the goalie said. “You learn a lot by being in the playoffs. Everybody can talk about it and have their own thoughts about it but once you are actually in it, that’s when you get to feel the pulse, understand how intense it is, how everybody puts their body on the line, how much faster it goes and how much more everybody wants to win. It’s not like game 56 in January or whatever and you’ve lost three in a row, you always have to recharge, refocus. It doesn’t matter if you’re down 3-0 or up 3-0.”

The Maple Leafs will advance to face the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Second Round. Adding to Tkachuk’s disappointment was the realization of a missed opportunity to face his brother Matthew in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, though he said, “that’ll probably happen down the road.”

After seeing how his captain handled himself in the playoffs for the first time, Ottawa coach Travis Green loved what he saw.

“He’s a passionate guy, he loves winning,” Green said. “It’s not a play with him. He truly wants to win and wants the city to win and wants the city to feel good about the hockey team. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”