What Brady Tkachuk said after Toronto Maple Leafs fans kept trolling him
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk probably would like a do-over of his first-ever playoff game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Heading into Sunday’s playoff opener against his divisional rivals, the 25-year-old forward was saying all the right things heading into Ottawa’s first playoff matchup since 2017. With the Leafs having home ice in the series as division champions, Tkachuk was still confident in his team’s ability to upset the Leafs.
“I think that’s when we thrive at our best, [when] a lot of people are counting us out. But the belief, trust and faith we have in each other, it’s something special. This is an opportunity for us to grow together and enjoy the experience,” Tkachuk had told reporters prior to Game 1.
But the opening contest of the first Battle of Ontario matchup couldn’t have gone much worse for Tkachuk.
Not only did the Senators drop the game by a 6-2 score, but Tkachuk quickly became public enemy No. 1 in Toronto pretty much by the time the puck was dropped.
Starting in the first period and continuing right into the third, chants of “Brady sucks” kept ringing throughout a sold-out crowd at Scotiabank Arena.
Chants of "BRADY SUCKS" at Scotiabank Arena 👀 pic.twitter.com/vJpqx7Q6Z3
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 20, 2025
“I guess I expected it. Couldn’t care less. I don’t really give a sh*t to be honest with you,” Tkachuk said about the chants post-game. “That’s not going to affect me. It’s a new game Tuesday.”
Tkachuk himself wasn’t exactly an X factor in the contest, being held off the scoresheet.
He did have a team-high five shots on goal as well as seven hits, while also picking up a coincidental roughing penalty with just 13 seconds to go in the second period for a dust-up with Toronto’s Scott Laughton.
On the whole, it was a pretty textbook playoff performance from the Leafs, who scored twice in each of the three periods and never trailed in the contest while converting on their power play on three separate occasions. Ottawa picked up 36 penalty minutes on the evening, compared to just 16 for Toronto.
The two teams return to Scotiabank Arena for Game 2 on Tuesday night. Given how physical and chippy the opening contest of the series was, don’t expect Leafs fans to make things any easier for Tkachuk moving forward in the playoffs.