Tkachuk on Sens slump: 'This is not fun right now'

Senators captain Brady Tkachuk took ownership for his role in Ottawa's struggles after its sixth consecutive loss Thursday, a 6-4 defeat to the Colorado Avalanche.

"It's hard to look at positives right now," Tkachuk said, per Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. "It's a pretty shitty feeling, and I don't think I've felt worse in my life. This is not fun right now.

"At the end of the day, it starts with me as a leader. Individually, I'm not there and playing the way I need to be playing. ... I've got to find a way to do a better job and help this team win."

The Senators held a 4-2 lead late in the second period Thursday but allowed four unanswered goals to prolong their losing streak. It was the club's second game since firing head coach D.J. Smith and replacing him with Jacques Martin.

Tkachuk was held pointless in the loss and was a minus-two in just over 20 minutes of ice time. He entered the contest fourth on the Senators with 21 points but had only collected one goal and one assist in his seven most recent outings.

The 24-year-old registered a career-high 35 goals and 83 points in 2022-23.

Ottawa's fallen to 30th in the league standings with 22 points in 28 games.

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