Brady Tkachuk Scores in Hostile Ottawa Return, but Senators Beat Panthers 5-1

Brady Tkachuk scored a power-play goal on Florida's first shot of the night in his first game back in Ottawa, but the Senators answered with five straight goals and beat the Panthers 5-1 on Wednesday at Canadian Tire Centre, snapping Florida's three-game winning streak. The former Senators captain was booed from warmups to the final horn, and fans threw Tkachuk jerseys onto the ice in a game that boiled over into a third-period fight and a scrum in front of the Ottawa bench.

Tim Stutzle, Claude Giroux, Shane Pinto, Warren Foegele and Stephen Halliday scored for Ottawa (7-3-0), which outshot Florida 30-19. Akira Schmid made 25 saves for the Panthers (5-3-2), who play again Thursday night in Pittsburgh on the second half of a back-to-back.

A hostile homecoming

Tkachuk spent eight seasons in Ottawa, the last five as captain, and recorded 473 points (219 goals, 254 assists) in 581 games with the Senators, according to NHL.com. He asked to be traded, and on June 21 the Senators sent him to Florida, where he joined his brother Matthew, in exchange for the No. 9 and No. 25 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, a conditional 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick, according to CBC Sports and NHL.com.

The crowd of 17,010 made its feelings clear. Fans booed through his tribute video, while Tkachuk raised his stick and waved, and chanted "We don't need you!" and "Matthew's better!" among other taunts through the night, Fox Sports reported. Artem Zub drew cheers by checking him on his first shift. Several fans threw Tkachuk sweaters onto the ice.

Tkachuk took it in stride afterward. He said the reception was good and showed the passion Ottawa fans have, adding that he has so many great memories in the city that will last forever, according to Fox Sports. He repeated that leaving was entirely his decision and that his professional and personal reasons will stay private between him and Senators general manager Steve Staios.

Before the game, Panthers coach Paul Maurice had said fans should react however they feel, telling NHL.com, "If you're unhappy, come unhappy."

How the Senators took over

Tkachuk silenced the building briefly. Midway through the first period, on a power play, he finished a feed from Matthew Tkachuk with a wrist shot for his seventh goal of the season. Seth Jones also assisted. Florida's lead lasted a little more than four minutes before Stutzle one-timed a pass from Jake Sanderson to tie it 1-1.

Ottawa took control in the second period. Giroux beat Schmid through traffic from the top of the slot at 9:34, and Pinto made it 3-1 at 17:18, with Sanderson picking up his second assist of the night.

Foegele pushed the lead to 4-1 at 7:58 of the third, finishing a pass from Dylan Cozens, and Halliday closed the scoring at 14:57 off a drop pass from Stutzle, who finished with a goal and an assist.

Here is how the goals came:

Tempers flare in the third

The game was physical from the start. Bokondji Imama and Hayden Hodgson dropped the gloves in the first period, and Sam Bennett fought Ottawa forward Ridly Greig early in the third. Later in the period, both Tkachuk brothers and Bennett tangled with Senators players in front of the Ottawa bench, and Brady Tkachuk got into a heated exchange with Cozens, according to the Associated Press. Nick Cousins and Imama each drew misconduct penalties.

Florida was called for 15 penalties totaling 44 minutes and went 1 for 5 on the power play. Ottawa had 13 penalties for 40 minutes and went 1 for 7 with the man advantage. The Panthers out-hit the Senators 42-25, with Brady Tkachuk credited with six hits, but they won just 37.7% of faceoffs and managed only 19 shots.

Ullmark leaves hurt

Ottawa lost goaltender Linus Ullmark early in the third period. He made a pad save on Tkachuk and needed help getting off the ice, the AP reported. Ullmark stopped 17 of 18 shots, and Samuel Ersson faced only one shot in relief. ESPN lists Ullmark as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Schmid, starting with Jacob Markstrom on injured reserve, allowed five goals on 30 shots for an .833 save percentage.

Where the Panthers stand

Florida arrived in Ottawa on a roll. The Panthers had beaten Columbus 7-3, Vancouver 3-2 in overtime and Seattle 8-3 in their previous three games, and Brady Tkachuk had driven much of that surge with natural hat tricks in back-to-back games against the Blue Jackets and Canucks. After going pointless in his first five games with Florida, he had 10 points in his next four entering Wednesday, according to NHL.com.

The Panthers are still playing without captain Aleksander Barkov (lower body), Brad Marchand (leg), Markstrom (upper body) and Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), all on injured reserve. That has put more of the scoring load on the Tkachuks, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe, who were all held off the scoresheet except for Brady's goal and Matthew's assist.

Before the game, NHL.com noted the Senators and Panthers were tied for third in the Atlantic Division. Ottawa, which made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons after a seven-year drought, now has 14 points to Florida's 12.

What's next

The Panthers continue a road-heavy stretch with three of their next four games away from Amerant Bank Arena:

Thursday's game in Pittsburgh streams on ESPN+ and airs locally on Scripps Sports. The Senators host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

For Tkachuk, the emotional first visit is behind him. He summed it up afterward as one chapter closed, and the Panthers now need him and the rest of a short-handed lineup to turn the page in Pittsburgh less than 24 hours later.