Brady Tkachuk booed in Ottawa return as Senators beat Panthers 5-1

A hostile return to Ottawa

Brady Tkachuk, the former Senators captain, was booed from pregame warmup through player introductions when Florida visited the Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday, 21 October. It was his first regular-season return since the June trade that sent him to the Panthers, and the crowd jeered him whenever he touched the ice. Fans drowned out a video tribute to him with profane chants, and some threw his jerseys onto the ice. The reaction followed a strained final season in Ottawa, when speculation about his future grew and his podcast with brother Matthew drew criticism. Tkachuk had spent eight seasons with the Senators, including five as captain, and he helped them return to the playoffs in 2025.

Owner Michael Andlauer had earlier suggested that Tkachuk's father, Keith, and brother Matthew influenced his request for a trade. Tkachuk responded that Andlauer was entitled to his opinion, but the choice was his.

I know for myself it was 100% my decision.

The game on the ice

Brady Tkachuk opened the scoring with a power-play goal midway through the first period, but Tim Stutzle tied the game just over four minutes later with a one-timer off a pass from Jake Sanderson. Ottawa then pulled away, with Claude Giroux and Shane Pinto scoring in the second period and Warren Foegele and Stephen Halliday adding goals in the third. Linus Ullmark left early in the third with an apparent injury after making a pad save on Tkachuk, and Sam Ersson finished in relief. Akira Schmid stopped 25 of 30 shots for Florida, a save percentage of 83.3. The win lifted the Senators to 7-3-0, while the Panthers, who had won three straight, dropped to 5-3-2.

Senators head coach Travis Green described the atmosphere in terms usually reserved for the playoffs.

For a game on a Wednesday night in October, that felt as close to a playoff game as you're going to get.

Jake Sanderson, who had two assists in his first game back from an early-season injury, called the night unbelievable.

Third-period scrum and suspensions

Emotions boiled over in the third period. Matthew Tkachuk, Brady and Sam Bennett got into it with Senators players in front of the Ottawa bench, and Brady had a heated exchange with Dylan Cozens. Matthew punched Cozens while Cozens was being held by Brady, and the NHL's Department of Player Safety fined Matthew $5,000 for roughing in a ruling announced on Thursday, 22 October. Nick Cousins was fined $4,091.49 for unsportsmanlike conduct after he grabbed Matthew from the Ottawa bench. League sources, speaking anonymously, said no further supplemental discipline would follow. The game produced 84 penalty minutes, including separate fights between Boko Imama and Hayden Hodgson and between Bennett and Ridly Greig.

Schmid and the Panthers ahead

Swiss goaltender Akira Schmid, from Bern, has been Florida's No. 1 option while Jacob Markstrom is injured, and he has appeared in half of the team's games since his summer transfer. This loss ended a run of three straight Panthers wins. Florida next plays at Pittsburgh on Thursday, 22 October, and Ottawa hosts the San Jose Sharks the same day.