Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk isn't buying the Ottawa Senators' claim of a sellout crowd when his brother, Brady Tkachuk, returned to Canadian Tire Centre as a visiting player for the first time back in October.
"That was one of the better regular-season (atmospheres), for sure, that I can remember," Matthew said on Wednesday's episode of the "Wingmen" podcast. "Playoffs are a little bit of a different beast. It was good. It was a loud 15,000. They say it was sold out; that was not sold out. I was there. I had my eyes. It was not sold out."
The Senators announced a sold-out crowd of 17,010 for the game.
Although Matthew doubted the sellout, he conceded the fans were "loud" and "passionate."
Senators fans let their feelings toward Brady be known throughout the contest, booing him anytime he touched the puck. The crowd also came up with several creative signs and chants, including "f--- you Brady," "you can't read," "you eat crayons," and "f--- your podcast."
However, Brady said he was too focused on the game to hear the taunts.
"It was probably the best energy that I've seen in that building, right up there with playoffs," Brady said. "It was fun, it was funny. During the game you're just so focused on the task at hand you don't really pay attention to whatever chants or cheers they might've had, or boos, and you're just playing the game."
Brady scored the game's opening goal, but the Senators replied with five unanswered tallies in a dominant 5-1 victory.
Brady spent the first eight seasons of his career in Ottawa, including five as captain. In June, he facilitated a trade to Florida to play alongside his brother despite having two years left on his contract.
The 27-year-old has notched eight goals and eight assists in 15 games with the Panthers this season.
