Tkachuk's Penalties Doom Ottawa in Playoff Series

0:00It's April 22nd, NHL News today starts now, AI powered and ready for kickoff. Ottawa Senators are heading home down two games to nothing against the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2026 NHL playoffs. Despite strong showings from minus Oldmark and Net, and guys like Drake Batherson and Dylan Cosen stepping up, the Sins can't shake this deficit. It's been gritty, low scoring defensive battles, just like everyone figured, but Captain Brady Tickachuck's penalties have been the killer, handing. Carolina Prime Powerplay Chances Game 1 kicked off with Tickachuck dropping the gloves right at Pug Drop against Jordan Stau, trying to fire up his squad. He took a beating though, and those penalties laid in the period let the Hurricanes build a lead they never lost. Even with solid underlying stats like his Corsi percentage leading the team. Those two minutes shorthanded drained Ottawa's momentum, big time. In game 2, it was more of the same. A dumb extra shot on Sebastian Ajo turned into a power play go for Logan Stankovan early on.

1:04Tickachuck dialed back after that, looking hesitant on hits and back checks, and Carolina sealed it in double overtime. Folks are calling him out for yapping and cheap shots instead of leading clean. The Senators already had the fourth worst penalty kill in the league at 75.7%. While Carolina's sitting pretty at 80, 0.5, Tickachuck's racked up a third of Ottawa's 10 penalties so far, 9 minutes total, and that's brutal for a squad that leaks goals on the kill. If Tickachuck doesn't lock in that discipline, this series could slip away fast. The Sen's need their Captain playing smart tough, not just tough. The script back home.