“It’s devastating,” Tkachuk said, his voice cracking. “I believed. It’s a tough pill to swallow right now.”

The Ottawa Senators’ captain wanted badly to force Game 7 in the Battle of Ontario, but the club came up short with a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 of the series on Thursday night.

As Tkachuk left the ice after shaking hands with the Leafs, the fans chanted his name and hoped for better days ahead.

“It’s devastating,” Tkachuk said, his voice cracking. “I believed. It’s a tough pill to swallow right now.”

The Senators battled back from a 3-0 deficit to close within 3-2, but Max Pacioretty’s winner in the third turned out to be the difference after veteran David Perron tied it up late.

Nobody can accuse the Senators of having any quit in them, they tried in every way, shape and form to send this series the distance.

“I’m proud of this team and every single guy,” Tkachuk said. “Everybody, even those who weren’t playing, staff, trainers, everybody in this organization. It takes will, and it takes guts.

“We didn’t get the job done. We’re going to take these lessons and be better because of it. It’s tough to realize right now because everything happens for a reason, but we’ll be better because of it.”

Tkachuk struggled to find words.

“The character we have in this room, I knew we had it all along, but to battle back in this game, it’s tough,” Tkachuk said.

“As much as it stings right now, and it sucks, it’s a hell of a year by everybody,” Chabot said. “Right from training camp, every single guy in this room bought into the plan and the process.

“We never stopped. We kept going all season. There were some tough times, but we found ways to get out of them and get stronger as a team. No one ever doubted us in this room.”

What was important for the Senators was their improvement as the series went on. They could have thrown in the towel at 3-0, but they refused to go quietly into the night.

“I’m much like our players, I’m disappointed,” said coach Travis Green. “This was much like the whole series; it was a good game that could have gone either way. It could have gone either way.

“They’re going to take away a lot: What playoff hockey is like, how razor-thin the margin is. Every shift and every battle matters, and attention to detail. But I’m proud of our group. They played hard. That’s about as close of a series that you’re going to see.

“Most people would agree that the series could have gone either way.”

A CITY OF LOVE

The fans tried to will the Senators to tie it up in the third.

The 19,007 at the Canadian Tire Centre never gave up hope until William Nylander put it away into an empty net. The city rallied around the Senators, and the excitement for the playoffs for the first time since 2017 was genuine.

“You just feel the support. It’s been a long eight years for them to experience it,” Tkachuk said. “They don’t realize the impact that it has made on me and this team. I just really wanted to do it for them.

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“They were absolutely amazing. I know it sucks right now, but I really can’t wait for what the future holds.”

There was a large crowd outside before the game, and the threatening crowds couldn’t dampen the spirit because hope remains eternal.

“It was fu–ing unbelievable to be honest,” Chabot said. “The fans, the city, everyone. We get off the plane (after Game 5), and 30 or 40 people are waiting on a Tuesday at 1 a.m. You don’t get that anywhere else.

“We have said it all along, even in the tough years, that we have the best fans in the league. They’ve been there for all eight years that I’ve been here. They love the team, the players, and I think that’s what hurts the most right now.

“We thought for sure, coming back home, we were going to pull it off for them. They brought the energy all night. It hurts. You saw the support we had at the end, they gave us even though we lost, it means the world to me and every single one of my teammates.”

The Senators’ dressing room was quiet and empty by the time the media entered. Green’s final message to the players was that he was proud of the way they played and the effort they made to get back in the series.

They weren’t expected to be here after being pushed to the brink, and the Leafs are viewed as a Cup contender. Toronto was feeling the heat from every corner of the centre of the universe.

So much had been made of Toronto’s checkered playoff past, with a 1-13 record in elimination games coming into this, but the Leafs took their game to another level.

“There is a lot of sadness,” said goaltender Linus Ullmark. “There is not a lot of anger or anything, it’s just sadness and emptiness in a way. When you put everything on the line and you don’t come out successful, it’s just gut-wrenching.”