Brady Tkachuk wore Panthers white in Ottawa on Wednesday night. By the time the scrum after the whistle cleared, his helmet was gone.
Bodies piled up along the boards, red and white sweaters tangled together. The Florida forward was in the middle of it, squared off with the guys he used to share a locker room with.
Surprised? Nobody in either dressing room should be. Reunions like this always carry a little extra after the whistle.
Sam Bennett was right there in the same pile, which tells you what kind of night Florida brought to town.
And the snarl comes with production. Tkachuk has 6 goals through 9 games this season.
Two of those goals came on the power play, where he's also picked up 3 assists. That's a weapon Ottawa now has to defend instead of deploy.
His brother Matthew is doing the setup work, with 11 assists among his 14 points. Florida has turned it into a family business.
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Panthers lean on the Tkachuk brothers with Barkov on IR
Aleksander Barkov sits on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. He isn't expected back until at least November 27.
Brad Marchand is out with a leg injury until at least November 21. Jacob Markstrom is on IR too, with an upper-body issue.
Pull those names from the lineup and somebody has to supply the edge. That's part of what an $8,208,714 cap hit buys in Florida.
The Panthers walked in on a three-game winning streak, capped by an 8-3 romp over Seattle on Saturday.
Ottawa came in 6-3-0 under Andrew Campbell, but stung by a 3-1 loss in Philadelphia that same night.
Two Atlantic Division clubs, both sitting on 12 points. Every shove after the whistle carries standings weight now.
Think of it like showing up to your old office party wearing a competitor's lanyard. Everybody's polite until somebody bumps you by the coffee machine.
The Senators are also without Thomas Chabot, listed day-to-day with an upper-body injury and expected out until at least October 27.
Ottawa's best weapon is Linus Ullmark, stopping pucks at a .945 clip. Getting dragged into Tkachuk's brand of hockey is a losing bet for a team leaning on its goaltender.
Neither side gets much time to cool off. Florida plays in Pittsburgh on Thursday, while Ottawa stays home for a back-to-back against San Jose.
And the rematch is already on the calendar. The Panthers host the Senators on November 25, then again on January 18.
Whatever got said in that pile Wednesday won't stay in Ottawa. The only question is which side carries it into November with a grudge, and which one carries it with a lead.
Should the Senators go after Brady Tkachuk the next time they see the Panthers?
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