When he plays like a Tasmanian devil, it can be reckless at times. But it’s what he does, it’s who he is. And that’s OK with Senators head coach Travis Green.
Published Nov 24, 2024 • Last updated Nov 24, 2024 • 5 minute read
Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk fights with Vancouver Canucks centre Dakota Joshua during the third period on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. Photo by Justin Tang /THE CANADIAN PRESSThe conundrum for the Ottawa Senators: Do you let Brady Tkachuk continue to be Brady Tkachuk?
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Or do you try to change his all-out, sometimes reckless mindset?
Do you risk having your team captain spend time in the penalty box when he sticks up for teammates or tries to use his physical presence to shift the momentum of a game?
The answer, apparently, is yes.
In Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the fifth straight setback for the Ottawa Senators, Tkachuk took 21 minutes in penalties. Three of the infractions were minors — roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct and cross-checking. The last of those two-minute penalties came on a delayed penalty call against Ottawa, leaving the Senators with a two-man disadvantage for a full two minutes.
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There was also a fighting major against Vancouver’s Dakota Joshua and a misconduct that knocked him out of the game in the third period.
So, while the Senators were trying to battle back from a 4-1 lead (they scored two goals in the final four minutes), their captain was in the dressing room.
You want Tkachuk, who has scored more than 30 goals three times in his first six NHL seasons and already has 10 this year, on the ice as much as possible; he can’t contribute offensively if he’s in the penalty box or in the dressing room.
A year ago, he had 134 penalty minutes; this year, he has 48.
He drops the gloves, he runs over people, he takes penalties. It’s good, yet sometimes it’s bad.
But with Brady Tkachuk, there’s a fine line. With Brady Tkachuk, you’re getting somebody who will do whatever he thinks it takes to help his team win, to protect his teammates. Sometimes frustration and emotion get the better of him.
But he gives a crap, he cares.
Maybe more guys on the team need to find that edge.
On Saturday, Tkachuk tried to light a fire under his teammates, who weren’t playing well enough. That’s what leaders do.
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When he plays like a Tasmanian devil, it can be reckless at times. But it’s what he does, it’s who he is.
And that’s OK with Senators head coach Travis Green.
“Whatever Brady and I talk about is between Brady and I,” Green said Saturday. “But he’s an emotional guy. I’m not going to take away his passion and his emotion. We’re going to coach Brady. Every player, you coach a bit differently. I’m not going to harness or take away his passion, his emotion. Quite frankly, it might have gotten us back into the game … a bit.”
His teammates appreciate Tkachuk and what he does.
“Not many guys play the game the way he plays it,” defenceman Thomas Chabot said. “He’s got so much character. We all love him. He brings it every single night. It’s not always going to be perfect, it’s never perfect for any of us. He’s been speaking up and embracing his role (as captain), and we all follow that.
“Being the captain, he puts a lot of pressure on himself. We want him to know it’s not all on his shoulders. When times are tough, there are emotions. That’s the game, it’s played with emotion and passion.”
FIVE AND COUNTING: The Senators should have been able to beat the very short-handed Canucks. Look at the lineups and you’d give Ottawa the edge.
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But, Saturday, the Canucks were better.
“We fell behind, we had a good push at the end, but we have to have that push when the game starts,” winger Claude Giroux said. “I strongly believe we’re right there. But we have to be better, we will be better. We’re a better team than this.”
For the Senators, it’s back to the drawing board, with a home game Monday against the Calgary Flames, then a three-game western road swing that lands in San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim.
Green was short with the media following Sunday’s skate at the Bell Sensplex; his patience has to be wearing thin.
When asked what has to happen, what has to change for the Senators on Monday, Green said, “Play better.”
“You don’t just magically win because you want to,” Green said Saturday. “The other team has a say in who wins and who loses as well. As I’ve said, you can play well and lose, play bad and win.”
Asked if Ottawa had a lack of emotion early in Saturday’s game, Green said: “That’s easy to say from the outside looking in. What is emotion? Is it the building getting loud? Is it scoring goals? Play good hockey and everyone thinks you have emotion, I guess. Did we have emotion in Boston (a 3-2 win) or Toronto (3-0 win)? No, we just played better. That’s the reality.”
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Asked how the Senators can regain the confidence they seemed to be showing earlier in the season, he said: “The guy that gets the answer to that is going to make a lot of money. It’s not like you tell someone to be confident. You can pat him on the back, give him a little kick in the butt, but confidence comes from within. Each guy finds confidence his own way and we’re trying to help our guys with that. This is not just a teaching league. You’re here to play.”
Asked if had the impression the Senators played not to lose instead of playing to win Saturday, Green said: “No, I didn’t. I got the impression we gave them four easy goals and didn’t play well enough to win the game.”
Asked about his veteran players, Green said: “Some guys haven’t played good enough and have to play better.”
To throw in a Yogi Berra quote, is this “deja vu all over again?”
Giroux doesn’t think so.
“We’re a different group than we were in the past,” he said. “We’re going to turn this around, I strongly believe that.”
ICE CHIPS: Don’t go flipping around your TV channels looking for Monday’s game to be on TSN: it’s not. Senators versus Flames is the featured game on Amazon Prime Monday Night Hockey. If you don’t have Prime, TSN 1200 radio is a great option … The game starts at 7:30 p.m. … Artem Zub missed practice Sunday; when a player is OK to go the next day, the Senators usually call it a “maintenance day.” They didn’t call Zub’s absence that … Winger Zack MacEwen was put on waivers and Zack Ostapchuk was recalled from Belleville.
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