Brady Tkachuk named No. 1 star of week ahead of return to Ottawa

Brady Tkachuk’s return to Ottawa certainly didn’t need an attention grabber.

Nonetheless, when the Florida Panthers star forward revisits his roots Wednesday it will be as the hottest player in the NHL. That was verified Monday when Tkachuk was named as the NHL’s First Star of the Week for the week ending Oct. 18.

What a week it was. Most notable was becoming the first player since 1986 to record natural hat tricks in back-to-back games.

Over the four games last week, Tkachuk recorded 10 points — tied for most in the NHL — on six goals and four assists.

“Honestly, still can’t believe it happened,” Tkachuk said in a media session Monday. “I’ve never done that in my life. It was great, but I’m just happier with the outcome for the team. I feel like we’re clicking on a lot of cylinders right now and building on that.”

Tkachuk and the Panthers, who are on a three-game winning streak, will attempt to continue the momentum of a memorable week when they begin a four-game trip with back-to-back games at Ottawa and Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Thursday.

The former Senators captain had the date circled as soon as the schedule came out. The 27-year-old spent the first eight seasons of his career in Ottawa before seeking a trade that brought him to South Florida to pair with brother Matthew on the Panthers.

Brady Tkachuk set for ‘weird but cool experience’

“It’s going to be nervous. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a weird but cool experience,” Brady Tkachuk said. “Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.”

Matthew Tkachuk leads the team with 14 points. Brady is tied for second with Seth Jones with 10.

Had the Ottawa homecoming happened just a week ago, the barrage of questions for Brady Tkachuk would have been very different than he will encounter this week.

Because he didn’t score a point in his first five games with the Panthers before busting out with 10 in the past four games.

It wasn’t just Brady Tkachuk who started slowly before scoring in bunches. The Panthers scored 18 goals in their past three games after managing only 12 goals in their first six games.

That included hat tricks by Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett in the Panthers’ 8-3 rout of Seattle at home on Saturday.

“Everyone’s a lot happier with their game right now,” Brady Tkachuk said Monday. “When we set the pace, other teams have a tough time keeping up with our size, our skill and our physicality. It’s just a combination of that. If we can just keep continuing to get better, which I feel every game we are, the sky’s the limit for our group.”

Panthers take defense-first approach on road

Coach Paul Maurice pointed out that playing six of their first nine games on the road dictated a tight-checking defensive style.

“We’re a defense-first team, and that’s why I think we’re pretty strong on the road because that’s the identity to what we’re trying to do,” Maurice said. “At the same time, you need to score goals just for all of it — for winning ... for a good feeling. ... At home, we get the energy of the crowd. You can feel it in our last two games.”

Facing another four-game stretch on the road, the challenge will be to continue producing at the offensive end while maintaining that defense-first mentality.

Adding to the intrigue of the matchup at Ottawa is that the Senators (6-3-0) are off to a stronger start than expected, near the top of the Atlantic Division with 12 points, same as the Panthers (5-2-2).

Brady Tkachuk knows he will be a marked man in his former home. His aim is to focus on his new team.

“I think for me is just using that emotion to my advantage, because it is going to be an emotional,” he said. “These are the points that matter in the season, too. So, of course, there’s an individual side to it, but most importantly is the team side and our team’s success.”

Newcomers at forward

The Panthers on Monday called up forward Cole Schwindt from AHL affiliate Charlotte and reassigned forward Sam Lafferty to the Checkers.

Lafferty’s departure likely clears the path for Cole Reinhardt to make his season debut for the Panthers. Reinhardt, who was impressive during the preseason, was called up Saturday but didn’t play against Seattle.