OTTAWA - Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk fully expects his squad to rebound after a tough loss Thursday night.
Ottawa fell 5-1 to the Colorado Avalanche, losing its second in a row after a six-game winning streak. The Senators (36-27-5) are desperate to put an end to a seven-year playoff drought and can ill afford too many off nights with just 14 games remaining.
鈥淣othing but positivity, belief, trust in this group,鈥 said Tkachuk. 鈥淎nd, you know, (things) like this happen. It's just all about responding and bouncing back next opportunity we have.鈥
The Senators, who currently hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, got some help from the out-of-town scoreboard on Thursday.聽
The Montreal Canadiens鈥 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders keeps them three points back in the final wild-card spot, while the New York Rangers, trailing by five points, lost 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Islanders are also five points back of Ottawa.
Linus Ullmark, who surrendered four goals on 13 shots in Thursday's loss, has now dropped his last two starts.聽
Senators head coach Travis Green pulled Ullmark late in the first period, believing it was the right move and an opportunity to get Anton Forsberg some ice time. Despite the change, Green remains confident in his starting goaltender.
鈥淚 think theresa国际传媒 probably a couple goals that he鈥檇 like to have back,鈥 Green said. 鈥淗esa国际传媒 played a lot of hockey for us. Hesa国际传媒 going to be great for us again.鈥
The Senators, who are back in action Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils, will look to avoid allowing their two-game skid to build any further.聽
鈥淭his is where you get to a slippery slope,鈥 said Tkachuk. 鈥淚f you think that we鈥檙e going into Saturday and we鈥檙e going to lose, itsa国际传媒 just not the case.聽
"You鈥檝e got to put it behind us. Itsa国际传媒 a fresh game, new game, new opportunity and an opportunity for us to make an impact on the game and get back to our winning ways.鈥
Despite falling behind early, Tkachuk spoke of the teamsa国际传媒 ability to remain positive and supportive of one another, something their head coach believes is crucial at this time of year.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e also got to be able to, at this time of year, move on from games as well but also learn from them,鈥 Green said. 鈥淎nd you know, we will tomorrow. We鈥檒l talk to our group after we watch the game but it does sting when you lose.鈥
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025.
