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“After the game, I was heartbroken. You never want the season to end as quickly as it did last year and this year,” Tkachuk said. “When you get in the playoffs, you just want to play till the middle of June. And when you’re not in the playoffs, there’s kind of that day of the season’s over here. But when you’re in the playoffs, you never know when it’s going to be over.
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“So you’re not really thinking about it, you’re not really preparing for it, and that emotion that kind of hits you, that the seasons done, and it’s really tough.”
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What made it more difficult was the fact that Tkachuk, who had 22 goals and 59 points this season with the Senators, was held pointless against the Hurricanes.
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“I don’t think anybody has more expectations than I have of myself. I’ve shown in the past that those are the games that I show up in and play well and even impact, and I don’t think anybody’s more frustrated with how everything went than me,” Tkachuk said.
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“I didn’t play good enough, and tried doing everything in my power to get my game going and make an impact. And just felt like nothing was going in, nothing was going my way, but I live with that, and that’s what’s tough. I believe that I could be that guy, and I’ve always prided myself on that, and when it doesn’t happen.”
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The road ahead for the Senators
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Tkachuk does have what he described as “chaos” waiting for him at his New Jersey home with a new baby in the house, but also a sister for his son, Ryder. But Tkachuk wants to let the dust settle before sitting down with Staois to determine the road ahead for the franchise.
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There will be changes in the off-season, there always are, and Tkachuk wants to hear what path Staios will take. He left to scout in Slovakia after the club’s elimination from the playoffs for the IIHF under-18 world championships, which wrap up this week.
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“For me, it’s just about having those conversations about our team, and where we can improve and where I can improve,” Tkachuk said. “All that other stuff is just a distraction to what we’re trying to do.”
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It’s easy to sit here and say getting eliminated in four straight games is a step back for the Senators because that’s the truth. Alternate captain Thomas Chabot stated on Monday that he was “kind of embarrassed” at getting swept, and so he should have been.
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But the Senators had to battle, scratch and claw to get to the playoffs so, at some point, they will be able to look back at what they achieved.
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“Everything is very dampened by how the playoffs went, but I think in the grand scheme of things, there was a lot that we dealt with as a group, handled the adversity, and I was really proud of that,” Tkachuk said. “You can easily make an excuse, throw in the towel, but the fact that we made up all that ground and got into this position was good.
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“We didn’t get what we truly wanted, which was the Stanley Cup. It is frustrating; it dampened it because all I want to do is win a Stanley Cup.”
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A lot of highs and a lot of lows
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Tkachuk started the season by missing six weeks after getting injured in the club’s home opener on Oct. 13 against the Nashville Predators. He required surgery to repair a tendon in his thumb.
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“There (were) a lot of highs, a lot of lows,” Tkachuk said when asked to sum up his season. “It was the first time going through a really tough surgery, looking back at it and missing six weeks and having to get back to game pace, and that’s always a challenge.
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“And, honestly, missing that much time. I hated it. I hate not being able to play, not being able to go to battle with my teammates, and it made me really appreciate playing and being out there playing a game that I love.”
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