OTTAWA \u2014 Simple as it sounds, the Ottawa Senators really\u00a0needed a victory on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
Yes, their push for back-to-back playoff berths continues after a 4-1 home win over the Buffalo Sabres, with Ottawa moving into the second wild-card spot thanks to tiebreakers over the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets.<\/p>\n
However, the triumph also crucially helped quiet the \u201cwhite noise,\u201d as coach Travis Green put it, that had enveloped his team.<\/p>\n
The commotion reached its loudest point some 36 hours earlier, following the Wednesday morning release of a new episode of the \u201cWingmen\u201d podcast, which Senators captain Brady Tkachuk co-hosts with his brother Matthew of the Florida Panthers. For the episode, Brady and Matthew were joined by a special guest: their father, ex-NHLer Keith Tkachuk. The trio wound up going viral for several reasons.<\/p>\n
At one point during the 79-minute show, which was recorded in the lead-up to the Senators and Panthers facing off in Florida on Tuesday night, both Keith and Matthew quipped about Brady\u2019s ice time with Ottawa, especially as the team chases a playoff spot. Tkachuk is currently averaging 17 minutes, 6 seconds per game this season, nearly a full minute less than last year (18:14) and two minutes down from his career high of 19:09 during the 2023-24 campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t play that much last game either,\u201d Keith said, appearing to reference last weekend\u2019s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, in which Brady only skated 16:55.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never does,\u201d Matthew added.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, come on,\u201d Brady replied in protest.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust thought I\u2019d throw that in there,\u201d Keith said, adding sarcastically, \u201cWhy play him a lot in a big game?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy play him more at the Olympics than in the regular season?\u201d Matthew said, also sarcastically. \u201cThat makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust carving the coach,\u201d Keith said, referring to Green.<\/p>\n
Speaking after an eventful Sabres game, having logged an assist, three hits and a fight in 15:55 of ice time \u2014 plus, later, a league-issued $2,500 fine for slashing an opponent from the Ottawa bench \u2014 Brady downplayed Keith\u2019s comments about his relative lack of shifts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI completely respect my dad,\u201d Brady said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to be a Hall of Famer. So I\u2019m not going to put words in his mouth or explain what he said. If you know him, he\u2019s an outgoing guy. He says what he thinks. I know it comes from a good place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green similarly dismissed the significance of the remarks. A former teammate of Keith\u2019s for two seasons (Phoenix Coyotes from 1999 to 2001), Green said that he hadn\u2019t listened to the podcast as of Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know (Keith) very well,\u201d Green said. \u201cHe\u2019s a friend. Played with him. Known him a long time. I know he\u2019s outspoken. I\u2019m not sure exactly what he said. But that\u2019s white noise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about Brady\u2019s ice time, Green replied that it was \u201cperfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brady also pointedly addressed a comment that his father made later in the podcast, when the elder Tkachuk poked fun at NHL players unable to play through injuries and goalies who don\u2019t start back-to-back games due to \u201crest management.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a video version of the podcast, Keith appears to first gesture at Matthew and refer to \u201chis whole team\u201d before beginning the mini-rant. However, many listeners, including members of the national hockey media, assumed that Senators goalie Linus Ullmark, whom Green had deemed unavailable due to \u201crest\u201d for the team\u2019s March 28 game against Tampa Bay, was a chief target here.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a part of it and rewatching it, I think it was pretty clear he was talking about Florida,\u201d Brady Tkachuk said. \u201cI just don\u2019t know how that got turned and misconstrued. But it happens. I know, in there, I thought it was clear as day he was talking about Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talked to him after, and there was not one shot. So, I don\u2019t know how that got twisted, and I have to talk about it now. But I thought it was clear as day talking about the Florida Panthers.\u201d<\/p>\n
After saving 21 of 22 shots against Buffalo, having successfully rebounded from allowing five goals and getting pulled in Tuesday\u2019s 6-3 loss to the Panthers, Ullmark declined to elaborate on his absence for the Tampa Bay game, which had drawn ire from fans and pundits alike. Green, who at the time said that Ullmark \u201cwasn\u2019t available,\u201d followed suit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to get into that,\u201d the Senators coach said. \u201cI don\u2019t have to talk about injuries. I don\u2019t have to talk about any of that. He needed a rest, and that\u2019s fine. And my only concern is getting our team to play, standing behind our players. And I know how good of a team we are when we play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, Green and the Sens were able to celebrate an effort that put the podcast and recent losses behind them \u2014 not to mention preventing Buffalo from clinching its first playoff berth since 2010-11. Ullmark and Tkachuk even exchanged a celebratory hug after the final horn, as they\u2019ve often done after wins.<\/p>\n