BarDown just flagged that Matthew Tkachuk is calling out the Senators over their sellout claim for Brady's return to Ottawa.
The Panthers forward has now weighed in on a night that already had plenty of noise around it. And his brother's homecoming hasn't gone quiet in the days since.
Here is how BarDown put it: Tkachuk called out the Sens for claiming a sellout crowd when Brady came back to Ottawa.
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That is all the post gives us, so the specifics of what Matthew said stay with him. What we do know is that the Tkachuk family has not let this one fade.
Our earlier coverage showed Brady Tkachuk's jersey donation fallout had already created a problem for the Senators, with head coach Travis Green watching an emotional night spill into the days after.
Then came the chirp Brady aimed at the Ottawa bench, a message that came after he scored in his return, and the Panthers didn't score again.
Why the sellout claim matters beyond Ottawa
A sellout claim is easy to make and hard to wave away when a player of Tkachuk's profile questions it. Fans in the building know what they saw, and so does everyone watching at home.
The Senators have not changed the tone of their season in the meantime. They sit 9-6-1, 12th in the NHL and fourth in the Atlantic Division, and they were playing at Buffalo tonight as this was written.
Florida is a spot behind in the standings picture at 8-5-2, 13th in the league and fifth in the Atlantic. The Panthers were hosting Chicago tonight, having lost 5-3 to Detroit on Monday.
Matthew himself is producing. He has 21 points in 15 games this season, 17 of them assists, so the noise hasn't slowed him down.
The feud is personal, and that makes it more fun for the league. But a public argument over attendance is a bad look for a team trying to turn an emotional night into a positive story, and the Senators opened the door themselves.
Ottawa and Florida have no meeting listed in this sheet, so the next chance for this to flare up on the ice isn't clear. Both teams are back on the schedule Saturday, Ottawa at home against Utah and Florida on the road in Washington.
Were the Senators wrong to claim a sellout for Brady Tkachuk's return to Ottawa?
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