Brady Tkachuk reveals James Reimer’s heartfelt speech that lit a fire under Senators

The Ottawa Senators were one of the National Hockey League’s best teams down the stretch, winning six of their final eight games to book a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a second straight year. But on April 2, ahead of a game against the eventual Atlantic Division-champion Buffalo Sabres, the Sens had lost three in a row.

As team captain Brady Tkachuk shared with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, backup goaltender James Reimer gave an inspirational speech to his teammates before the tilt.

“He just said that he has every ounce of faith and belief in every single guy in this room,” Tkachuk said, as shared by Friedman in his latest 32 Thoughts column on Saturday.

“Doesn’t matter what happens with this game, I have every ounce of faith and belief in this group, that we’re going to win tonight. We’re going to get the job done. And I know everybody in that room was just looking at him. I could really see the excitement and the energy grow within a guy and see that they’re going to give absolutely 100 percent of what they have.”

Clearly, the speech worked, as Ottawa beat Buffalo 4-1 that night before going on to pick up at least a point in six of their final seven tilts.

The late-season run was enough to get the Senators into the playoffs, but as the second wildcard team. Thus, they’re locked into a first-round matchup against the Eastern Conference-winning Carolina Hurricanes.

It’s an extremely difficult matchup, but the Sens were one of the NHL’s more potent teams after the Olympic break, and they certainly have a chance to pull off the upset.

While Reimer won’t be a factor on the ice — at least in Game 1, as Linus Ullmark is getting the start — it’s clear he’s been extremely influential behind the scenes.

The series is set to kick off at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina in a matter of minutes, with puck drop set for just past 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. It’ll be interesting to see if the Sens can keep their late-campaign momentum up against a powerhouse Canes team in Round 1.

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