Sens' Tkachuk embarrassed by loss to Panthers

The Ottawa Senators had their show run by the Florida Panthers on Thursday night, and for captain Brady Tkachuk, the blowout loss came with a reminder that his team has a long way to go before becoming a contender.

"I mean, looking at the games we've played against them this year - 5-0, lose in overtime, and lose 6-0 - I guess you can say that's a team that you look at," he said. "Even missing one of their top guys (in Carter Verhaeghe), they just roll you over.

"All four lines, D, they're missing (Aaron Ekblad), too. Yeah, I guess it's something to look at ... and compare ourselves to. We have a lot more work to do."

Both Tkachuk and defenseman Jake Sanderson used the word "embarrassing" to describe the Senators' performance. The 17,653 fans in attendance at Canadian Tire Centre appeared to agree with their assessment, booing the team off the ice.

Ottawa was behind the eight ball almost immediately, surrendering two goals before the two-minute mark of the first period.

"This morning, we emphasized on having a good start," Sanderson said. "We knew they were gonna come out strong. We didn't match, and (it) kinda snowballed the rest of the game."

The Panthers ended up chasing Joonas Korpisalo with their fourth goal early in the second period. Florida outshot Ottawa 31-30 while controlling 72.2% of the high-danger chances and 63.7% of the expected goals at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. The Senators also went an abysmal 0-for-6 on the power play.

Florida was struggling heading into Thursday's clash, with just one regulation win in its last 10 games. Ottawa, meanwhile, had won five of its last six games.

Senators interim head coach Jacques Martin pushed back on the notion that it's hard for his team to stay motivated with a playoff berth more or less out of reach.

"I think there's a lot of guys that are playing for something," he said. "I think ... there's several players on this team that are playing for jobs. So I think there's always a purpose, and also, you've gotta have pride in your play."

Tkachuk echoed Martin's sentiment but added that the players need to think about more than just themselves with seven games remaining on their schedule.

"We're playing for the people that got us here, playing for the people who spend money to come watch us, and playing for all the support that people have in us through thick and thin," he said.

The Senators will square off against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.