Senators' Brady Tkachuk Addresses Father Keith's Comments About Toughness of NHL Players in Video

Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said his father Keith Tkachuk was talking about Matthew Tkachuk's team, not his, when recently criticizing players for being unavailable due to injury.

"I thought it was clear as day. He was talking about the Florida Panthers," Tkachuk said after a Thursday night win over the Buffalo Sabres that allowed the Senators to climb into the Eastern Conference's second Wild Card spot.

Tkachuk continued, "What people twist and say, I know what I was a part of, and all those things didn't come out of my mouth.

"I completely respect my dad. He's going to be a Hall of Famer, so I'm not gonna put words in his mouth, or explain what he said. If you know him, he's an outgoing guy, says what he thinks. And I know it comes from a good place."

Tkachuk was addressing the conversation that took place around the 37:00 mark of Wednesday's episode of Wingmen with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, when Keith was talking about playing with a broken wrist during his own NHL career.

"That's what happens. You play through injuries, guys," Keith said. "Holy Christ, this whole team. 'Ah, my pinky hurts! I'm out for six days!'"

"I knew that was coming. I knew right when he said that, I'm like, don't say it. I'm like, don't you say it," Matthew laughed.

"I just had a bad sleep, so I can't play tonight," Keith continued. "Oh, my God. Disgusting."

Keith went on to name goaltender Grant Fuhr, who set a single-season record by playing 79 games for the St. Louis Blues in 1995-96, as an example of toughness from his era in the NHL.

His comments took place at a point in the season when the two-time defending champion Panthers are missing a host of key players due to injuries, including Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Evan Rodrigues.

They also were aired shortly after Senators coach Travis Green told reporters he had wanted goaltender Linus Ullmark to start during last Saturday's loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but that Ullmark "needed a rest and he wasn't available to start tonight."

The 23-year-old, who took a leave of absence from the Senators earlier this season for what he said was mental health reasons, was then pulled after allowing five goals in 14 minutes during a Tuesday loss to the Panthers.

Ullmark bounced back with 21 saves in Thursday night's 4-1 win over the Sabres, a good sign for a Senators team that will need strong play from their netminder down the stretch in order to beat out teams including the Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers for the last playoff spot in the East.

Ottawa's final regular-season push will continue Saturday night with a matinee home game against the Minnesota Wild.