Brady Tkachuk plays OT hero for Senators — and makes a boy's dream come true

Brady Tkachuk started his day by helping make a seven-year-old boy’s dream come true. 

Tkachuk finished the evening with an overtime goal in the boy’s honour. 

That one was for you, Daniel Maloney of Lyn, Ont. 

“He’s our lucky charm,” Tkachuk said of Daniel, who chose “playing a game with the Ottawa Senators” as his wish from the Make a Wish Foundation for children with critical illnesses. 

Tkachuk’s goal at 25 seconds of overtime completed a career-high, four-point night for the captain and ended a dramatic, emotional, 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team the Sens are trying to catch for a Wild Card berth. 

“I had a blast today, just to meet him (Daniel) and his sister, Lily,” Tkachuk said. “To see how much fun he had in the morning (at the team skate) and seeing him buzz around there for the warmups and score a goal at the end, it was amazing – just kind of put a smile on all our faces.”

Senators head coach D.J. Smith was also all over this idea of making the day special for Daniel, inviting him to the players bench to watch the morning skate and having him sit beside him at the media conference table

Young Mr. Maloney, who wore Brady’s No. 7, was asked at the briefing why Tkachuk was his favourite player. 

“Because he’s really tall, and he’s giving me a stick,” said Daniel. 

Solid reasons. Players cut down a stick for Daniel to use, and Shane Pinto crafted a nice tape grip on it. 

The crowd of 17,106 at the Canadian Tire Centre, which included plenty of Sidney Crosby fans, watched the evening begin with Daniel skating out by himself, a kind of rookie lap. Daniel looped, fell, got up and put a puck in the net to the delight of the crowd. For the anthems, he stood on the ice next to Tkachuk.

Once the game began, pucks kept going in. There were four goals in the first period alone, two per side. 

Along with his OT winner, Tkachuk had three assists. The Senators scored four power-play goals on a night when the Senators enjoyed eight power plays, including two double minors against Pittsburgh. (Pens head coach Mike Sullivan was losing his mind). 

Alex DeBrincat, Tim Stützle, Drake Batherson and Pinto scored those power-play goals. Pittsburgh got goals from four different scorers, including power play markers from Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell. 

The Stützle goal was a beauty, and a kind of passing of the torch. Off a faceoff, he walked Crosby at the blue line before driving in and beating Casey DeSmith with a wrist shot. 

Pinto, the rookie centre who dropped down to the third line with the return of Josh Norris, scored his first goal since Dec. 14 against Montreal. Never mind that it was a soft wrister that deflected in, Pinto was delighted to score against Crosby and the Penguins. He has said many times he got into the game as a child because of watching Sid the Kid. 

Wednesday was his first time playing against his boyhood hero. 

“I didn’t have too much time to kind of enjoy it, but obviously it’s a really cool moment,” Pinto said. “He’s the reason I played hockey, so definitely a cool night for me.

“It’s been a little bit for me (since the last goal),” Pinto said. “Just to get the monkey off my back is nice.” 

Neither Cam Talbot nor DeSmith had a stellar night in goal. Talbot yielded four on just 19 shots. Two of the goals trickled in off his trapper. Ottawa fired 40 pucks at DeSmith. 

Throughout, there was a playoff kind of buzz, fans reacting to the to and fro of a wild game, including the dozens who were carrying Crosby banners and wearing Penguins colours. The boos for Malkin when he drew two Ottawa minors just a minute apart were a reminder that this is still the Senators rink. 

Malkin scored at the tail end of that power-play sequence, earning more boos. 

Smith has branded this home-and-home series with Pittsburgh, a “mini-playoff series.” Will it be as close as the Senators get to a playoff berth?

We’ll see. They picked up a point on Pittsburgh, to move within eight points of the Penguins, but they missed their goal of winning in regulation. 

One sign of hope – the two teams closest to that second wild-card berth, Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders, are struggling. Both the Pens and Isles have 3-5-2 records in their past ten games. 

Friday’s game in Pittsburgh looms large for the Senators and the Penguins. 

But for one night, this was one to savour. 

“I thought we played a great game wire to wire,” Smith said. “Guys were dialled into what they were doing. Sometimes flukey goals go in and you have got to stay with it. It’s easy to get down.”

In the end, the night belonged to Daniel Maloney, and his wish. 

“You know, we’re lucky to be where we are, as athletes and myself, and for a little guy like that to spend the day like this, when we’re trying to win a game – some people may say it’s a distraction,” Smith said. “I don’t see that. I see us as a bunch of young guys who used to be those kids and we had an opportunity to make a kid’s day.

“There’s nobody better than Brady and that leadership group that go out of their way constantly for these guys and girls.”

Norris returns 

Centre Josh Norris returned to Ottawa’s lineup for his first game action since hurting his shoulder on Oct. 22. The 23-year-old seemed to relish making his return against Sid the Kid and Malkin, etc. 

“Why not go up against some of the best players in the world your first game back,” Norris said beforehand. “I’m excited for it.”

Norris did not look out of place, in between Giroux and DeBrincat. He also took a turn on the second power-play unit, and teed up a couple of his renowned one-timers. 

He played 19:14 in his first game back and had two shots. 

Mystery surrounds Joseph scratch

Winger Mathieu Joseph had everything in place for a dramatic return from the injury list. His brother, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, was in the Penguins lineup. About 50 family and friends were at the CTC to watch this game. 

Just one problem. Mathieu Joseph was made a healthy scratch. Smith did not elaborate, but the inference was that this was for disciplinary reasons, perhaps something that took place on the recent road trip to Arizona, Colorado and St. Louis.  

Joseph, who grew up in Laval and played his junior hockey in the QMJHL with the Saint John Sea Dogs, has been injured and out of the Senators lineup since Dec. 8.

Asked if he could elaborate on the reasons for Joseph sitting, Smith said, simply: “No.”

It is extremely rare for a Senators player to be made a healthy scratch for any reason other than performance on the ice.