Ottawa Senators’ captain and star winger Brady Tkachuk had his worst game of the season against the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday night, finishing -3 in the 3-1 loss.
His line with Shane Pinto and Fabian Zetterlund struggled mightily in their own zone, failing to generate much in the offensive end, except for a nice breakaway pass from Tkachuk to Pinto early in the 3rd period.
All three had a game to forget, but the spotlight is on the captain as the Senators head to Colorado for a daunting back-to-back against a motivated Avalanche team.
Utah’s first goal was particularly puzzling, as Tkachuk turned the puck over on a rush chance, very slowly made his way back into the defensive zone on the backcheck, and straight-legged the rest of the shift, which made him late to the man in the slot.
On top of the lacklustre defensive play, Tkachuk whiffed on two great chances in the 2nd period on the power play right in his wheelhouse. He also took an uncharacteristic slashing penalty in the offensive zone with just over a minute left in the 2nd period of a one-goal game.
Simply put, the game in Utah was one the Senators could not afford to lose, and it was one of their best players letting them down.
Hockey players have poor games all the time. It’s a long season and it happens.
Overall, Tkachuk’s game this season has not been nearly as poor as it was against the Mammoth, but in a loss that felt like a breaking point for fans, his play punctuates what could be a stretch that costs the Senators a playoff spot.
The team went 11-5-4 in 20 games without the captain, the 4th best record in the Eastern Conference and 2nd best in the Atlantic division over that time. Tim Stützle and Jake Sanderson emerged as true superstars. Dylan Cozens, Drake Batherson and Shane Pinto picked up a lot of the slack offensively.
It was a remarkable stretch that should have set them up to compete for home ice advantage in the playoffs, with the team’s best goalscorer set to join in on the fun.
Instead, the Senators have gone 8-10-1 since Tkachuk’s return. That promising stretch has effectively been erased. Now 42 games into the 2025-26 season, the Senators are dead last in the Atlantic division and second last in the East.
Tkachuk’s production has been fine, with 20 points in his 22GP. But he has just seven goals, which is an 82-game pace of 26. Five of those goals also came during a 3-game goal streak from Dec. 15th-20th. It would be his lowest goals per game rate since the shortened 2021 Canadian Division season, his third year in the NHL.
The elephant in the room is the injury that made him miss 20 games. Tkachuk had surgery on his right thumb, and although he has been cleared to play, it has to be impacting his shooting ability, which would explain his decreased goals per game rate.
Fighting is a huge aspect of Tkachuk’s game, but he wears a protective cast for his thumb during games, so he is unable to drop the gloves. It might be why he seems a bit less present in post-whistle scrums this season.
He had an injury-plagued calendar year of 2025, which has not been a tendency in Tkachuk’s career. We could be watching a player dealing with the mental battle that comes with returning from injuries.
But there is another elephant in the room. And his name is Milan.
It is impossible to discuss Tkachuk’s play this season without mentioning the Olympics, now just over a month away. However, the social media speculation that the captain is not giving his full effort every night to keep himself healthy for Team USA is unfair.
He has poured his heart and soul into the Senators organization since he arrived as a rookie in 2018. It is much more likely that his injury is the thing holding him back and changing the way he plays in some areas this season.
But still, fans are getting frustrated with his play during the team’s struggles. If Tkachuk continues this way but heads to Milan and looks like a completely different player, that will only add fuel to the fire on social media.
In an ideal world, I’m sure Tkachuk would love to have the comfort of his team being secured in a playoff spot during this stretch before the Olympic break.
But the reality is the exact opposite. The Senators now need to go on an absolute tear before the break to even put themselves in consideration.
And to do that, they need their captain to find another gear.
Jack Richardson is a writer for The Hockey News covering the Ottawa Senators. He has a background in local news, working as a video journalist for CTV. He also co-hosts the Locked on Senators postgame show. Follow Jack on Twitter and Instagram @jackrichrdson.
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