There was plenty of theater in Ottawa on Wednesday night, and Brady Tkachuk was right in the middle of it.
Senators fans turned Canadian Tire Centre into a full-blown gauntlet for the former captain, showering him with boos, profanity-laced chants, and jerseys tossed onto the ice. The hostility never let up, and it all ended with Ottawa hammering Tkachuk’s Florida Panthers 5-1. For a homecoming built on resentment, it delivered exactly the kind of chaos hockey people love.
That said, not every angry return belongs in the same bucket.
The temptation is obvious: compare the reception Tkachuk got in Ottawa to what John Tavares faced when he went back to Long Island in February 2019. But that comparison misses the biggest point of all. Ottawa at least got something back when Tkachuk asked for a trade with two years left on his deal.
The Senators turned that request into a haul: three first-round draft picks and a second-rounder from Florida. It still stung.
Tkachuk was the face of the franchise, and losing him hurt. But the front office had a chance to protect the future, and it took it.
The Islanders never got that chance with Tavares.
For months, he said he wanted to stay, and Islanders fans believed an extension was coming. Instead, he played out his contract, reached unrestricted free agency, and signed with his childhood team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
No trade. No draft picks.
No prospects. Nothing.
Then came the childhood pajamas photo, a little detail that only poured fuel on the fire and made the whole thing feel even more personal to Islanders fans.
That’s why February 28, 2019, hit so hard on Long Island. It wasn’t just about a star choosing a new team. It was about feeling deceived, and about watching the organization lose its captain without getting any return at all.
Ottawa fans had every right to make Wednesday night miserable for Tkachuk.
But the two stories are not the same. Senators fans lost their captain. Islanders fans lost their captain, their trust and any return for the trouble.
In Other News...
Islanders May Have Found The Spark Their Offense Desperately Needed
A few weeks ago, Peter DeBoer tried a different route with Simon Holmstrom, dropping him to the fourth line in hopes of giving the winger a mental reset. It was a small lineup tweak that reflected how carefully the Islanders have been managing a young player still trying to find his offensive footing, and it came at a time when the team could use any kind of spark it could get.
Now Holmstrom is back in the top six and looking far more comfortable, with the winger starting to finish chances and help drive consecutive wins. He has stayed on the first line with Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri as the Islanders get ready for the Kings, a sign that the opportunity and the timing may finally be lining up for his game to click. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Showed Real Fight But One Frustration Still Lingers
Down 2-0 in the first period, the Islanders could have drifted into another frustrating night, but instead they clawed all the way back behind goals from Victor Eklund and Matthew Schaefer. Eklund gave them the spark they needed, while Schaefer added another reminder of why his early NHL stretch has drawn so much attention. Even with the hole they dug themselves into, New York spent much of the second period on the front foot and kept piling up shots.
The part that will linger is how close it felt to becoming more than a comeback attempt. The Islanders dictated stretches of play, pressed hard in the middle frame and gave themselves a real chance to finish the job, only to see it slip away in overtime. For a team looking for signs it can turn effort into results, the fight was encouraging, but the empty ending was hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Let Another Winnable Home Game Slip Away In OT
Another winnable home game slipped away for the Islanders on a night when they had enough looks to change the script. New York pushed the Los Angeles Kings to overtime, but came up short in a 3-2 loss as the visitors picked up their second straight victory and the Islanders were left to sort through another missed opportunity on home ice.
Artemi Panarin did his part with two goals, and the game had plenty of goaltending at both ends before it tilted in the extra session. Los Angeles got the kind of finish that turns tight games into losses, while Quinton Byfield remained out with an upper-body injury and is considered day to day, leaving the Kings to keep adjusting as they try to build on a modest run. [Read more 🡒]