Brady Tkachuk defended his head coach after a blowout loss had some Ottawa Senators fans chanting for D.J. Smith's dismissal.

"There's nobody to blame but ourselves, the players, just we weren't ready to play (Saturday)," the Senators captain said following a 5-1 defeat to the New Jersey Devils.

"That's my job to get everybody ready, and yeah, I'm sick and tired of seeing all this negativity (on) social media and all that. It's not one person, it's the group in here that needs to figure it out."