Danny McCloskey
Fresh off last night’s loss to the Washington Capitals, the Senators could not afford to lose again tonight. With their season on the line facing the New York Islanders, someone needed to step up. Enter Brady Tkachuk. In a season where Tkachuk hasn’t been his normal physical self, he came up big tonight. Not only did he start the game with a fight, he scored the game winner with under 15 seconds left as the Senators came from behind to win 3-2. Let’s dive into the details.
READ MORE: Checking in on Senators Top Prospect Carter Yakemchuk
Tkachuk Answers the Critics
Plenty of questions have been raised about what has been wrong with Brady Tkachuk this season. The offense hasn’t been a problem, with Tkachuk scoring at around a point per game. The issue has been that Tkachuk hasn’t led the Senators into battle as he did so often in previous seasons. At his best, Tkachuk dominates the box score, racking up shots, hits, and of course dropping the gloves from time to time. Here is a comparison of Tkachuk in the previous three seasons compared to this season, coming into tonight:
- Previous Three Seasons: 4.26 shots per game, 3.25 hits per game
- This season: 3.81 shots per game, 2.51 hits per game
Some of that might have to do with the hand injury that cost him 20 games early in the year. Tkachuk, though, has been healthy enough to help the United States win a gold medal, and healthy enough to play all of the Senators games since returning from injury in late November. The Senators now need to win at an extremely high rate to fight their way into the playoffs. They need Tkachuk to step his game up.
That’s exactly what he did tonight. He started the game with a captain-on-captain fight against Anders Lee, his first fight of the season. He then had a vintage Brady Tkachuk boxscore:
- 1 goal, 6 shots, 5 PIMs, 3 hits
The goal of course was the game winner late in the third period as he crashed the net and put home the loose puck. He almost had another goal but just missed wide on a great feed from Dylan Cozens late in the second period. This is the Brady Tkachuk the Senators need if they have any chance of making the playoffs.
Additional Notes
Standings update: The Senators have 79 points with 14 games to play. The Canadiens, Bruins, Red Wings, and Penguins are all five points ahead. The Bruins and Red Wings have played one extra game. The Blue Jackets and Islanders are four points ahead. The Islanders have played one extra game. The Senators will need to catch at least two of these teams. Needless to say, the Senators will likely need 20 or so points in their last 14 games.
The Senators defense deserves a lot of credit for how they’ve played without Jake Sanderson. Tonight, Chabot played a game high 30:53. Gilbert, Kleven, Matinpalo and Spence all had an assist. Zub was Zub. After the Islanders first shot of the third period went in, the Senators did not give up a shot for the rest of the game. That’s how you play with a backup goalie in net. Next up for the Sens, a home game on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Let’s hope this one truly feels like a home game.
