Ottawa has one preseason game remaining, against Montreal again, in Kraft Hockeyville 2021 in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, on Saturday (6:30 p.m. ET; TVAS).
The fans here and the players waited two years for this game and the memories it generated. It was postponed because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
On Aug. 15, 2020, the NHL announced the small fishing village of Twillingate won the Hockeyville competition to host the game and receive $250,000 for upgrades to George Hawkins Memorial Arena, and $10,000 worth of equipment from the National Hockey League Players' Association's Goals & Dreams fund. The Twillingate arena is too small to host the game, so Gander, 90 miles to the south, hosted.
The wait was worth it.
After the game, Tkachuk still was talking about dinner from the night before, a seafood-heavy meal at Mystic Dining Room.
"That goes without saying," he said, laughing.
But it will be the game that he remembers the most, as it should be.
"It's just a great atmosphere," Tkachuk said. "Kind of reminds me of, you know, Michael Phelps in the Olympics. It was just a great experience for all of us."