Panthers' Brady Tkachuk eggs on booing crowd, scores in return to Ottawa

The Senators gave Brady Tkachuk a video tribute in his first game back in Ottawa since the trade that sent him to the Panthers, but fans were clearly not on the same page.

Tkachuk was on the receiving end of heavy boos at the Canadian Tire Centre ahead of Wednesday's game. He took them in stride, egging on the crowd with a victory lap on the ice, but that only fired up the fans some more.

Once the game got underway, though, Tkachuk dealt the first blow.

Here's a look at Tkachuk's eventful return to Ottawa.

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Brady Tkachuk's return to Ottawa

Tkachuk was heavily booed as the Senators played a video tribute for his eight seasons in Ottawa. After sitting quietly at first, Tkachuk smiled, took the ice, and did a lap to egg on the crowd.

The Sens gave a video tribute and thank you to Brady Tkachuk, who gave a salute to the crowd and received a shower of boos in return 🗣️🫣 https://t.co/1nEsSPxzRl

Less than a minute into the game, Artem Zub delivered a hit on Tkachuk and got perhaps the loudest ovation of the night.

Zub just knocked down Brady Tkachuk and got a GENERATIONAL crowd pop 😅 https://t.co/OsPDlfvJju

Tkachuk, however, dealt the first blow with the opening goal for the Panthers in the first period:

BRADY TKACHUK SCORES IN HIS RETURN TO OTTAWA 🤯 WHAT A MOMENT 🍿 https://t.co/swSYCHlhqj

The goal extended a red-hot run for Tkachuk, who had back-to-back hat tricks for the Panthers last week and now has a five-game point streak after a slow start to his Florida career.

MORE: Brady Tkachuk achieves rare feat with back-to-back hat tricks