Two teams coming off emotional highs will face off in Ottawa on Thursday night as the Senators welcome the San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks snapped a two-game skid (0-1-1) with a 4-3 overtime victory over the host Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. San Jose rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to force the extra session, and Macklin Celebrini ended it on a power-play goal with 3:47 remaining.
The comeback happened after Sharks coach Ray Warsofsky lit a fire under his team with his locker room comments during the second intermission. He told reporters following the win that it was all about getting the players to understand how they needed to play.
“We have to have a simple brand of hockey,” Warsofsky said. “You look at the top teams in the league. That’s how they play, and we’ve just got to get more consistent with that.”
Celebrini, who also scored the first goal of the game, had his first two-goal game of the season in the win and his second three-point effort in three games.
After posting 115 points last season, the 20-year-old is off to a strong start. He leads the Sharks in goals (five) and assists (nine) despite missing two games earlier this month with a lower-body injury.
San Jose played Tuesday without Alexander Wennberg, who is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. While he has no goals and three assists in nine games this season, the 31-year-old center has averaged 20 minutes of ice time per game, the highest figure among Sharks forwards aside from Celebrini.
Wennberg posted a career-high 18 goals to go with 37 assists last season.
San Jose goalie Yaroslav Askarov (2-4-0, 3.67 goals-against average, .865 save percentage) has lost four straight in regulation. He stopped 29 of 31 shots on Monday in a 3-1 loss at Toronto.
Askarov has yet to face Ottawa, which beat the visiting Florida Panthers 5-1 on Wednesday. That game marked the return of former Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, whom the team traded at his request in the offseason.
It led to a contentious atmosphere at Canadian Tire Centre. Senators coach Travis Green likened it to a playoff game.
“Normally, when you play a game like this, you usually got a day in between to get going again,” Green said after the victory. “So, our group’s going to have to get focused. Not just be on top of their game mentally, but physically, they’re going to have to find their juice again.”
Tim Stutzle, who leads Ottawa in goals (six) and assists (eight), and Stephen Halliday each recorded a goal and an assist against Florida.
Wednesday also marked the return of Jake Sanderson. The defenseman missed eight games after sustaining a lower-body injury at Toronto during Ottawa’s Oct. 3 season opener. He finished with a pair of assists vs. Florida while skating a team-high 22:36.
However, the Senators may have taken another blow as goalie Linus Ullmark left the game with 16:25 remaining after making a save. He was helped off the ice.
Green said Ullmark had a lower-body strain and would be evaluated on Thursday.
Samuel Ersson (0-2-0, 4.70 GAA, .831 save percentage) is likely to start against the Sharks, as he has got the nod in the second game of Ottawa’s previous two back-to-backs. He finished the Wednesday contest, facing one shot, which he saved.
The Swedish netminder is 4-1-0 in five games against San Jose with a 2.12 GAA and a .918 save percentage.