The San Jose Sharks (29-34-4, 7th Pacific) continue their home stand this afternoon, playing host to the Ottawa Senators (24-32-12, 7th Atlantic). Both teams are out of the playoff picture, but the Senators have a little extra incentive to win today. The further they can push the Sharks down the rankings in the NHL, the better shot the Senators have of snagging the first draft pick in 2020. As we’ve covered before, the Sharks handed the Senators their 2020 first-round draft pick in exchange for Erik Karlsson. If you’re wondering why the pick wasn’t protected, you can check out Sheng Peng’s recent interview with Doug Wilson, Jr. here.
This is the second and final game between these two teams this season. The last time they met was all the way back on Oct. 27, 2019. The Senators beat the Sharks 5-2. Forward Nick Paul had two goals and an assist in the game to claim the first star of the game. Aaron Dell let in 4 goals on 22 shots and Martin Jones let in 1 goal on 8 shots. It was a team loss for the Sharks.
So what can we expect from the Senators this time around? Connor Brown is the team’s leading scorer with 42 points (16 goals, 22 assists). Jean-Gabriel Pageau still leads the team with 24 goals even though he no longer wears a Senators’ sweater. Pageau was traded to the New York Islanders at the trade deadline for a great return. The Senators received a 2020 first-round pick, a 2020 second-round pick and a conditional pick if the Islanders win the Stanley Cup. For those that are counting that means the Sens now have three first-round picks in 2020.
Defenseman Thomas Chabot leads the team with 31 assists.
Other news of note, expect to see some former Sharks today. Chris Tierney, Rudolfs Balcers and Mikkel Boedker are all expected to play for the Senators.
Lines
SHARKS (per NHL.com)
San Jose has called up Nick DeSimone from the Barracuda. No word yet on if he’ll play today.
Forwards
Evander Kane – Logan Couture – Dylan Gambrell
Timo Meier – Joe Thornton – Kevin Labanc
Marcus Sorensen – Joel Kellman – Antti Suomela
Melker Karlsson – Alexander True – Stefan Noesen
Defense
Radim Simek – Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Mario Ferraro
Brandon Davidson – Tim Heed
Goalies
Aaron Dell
Martin Jones
Scratched: Lean Bergmann, Noah Gregor, Nikolai Knyzhov
Injured: Tomas Hertl (knee), Jacob Middleton (ankle), Dalton Prout (concussion), Erik Karlsson (broken thumb)
SENATORS
For the Sens, this is the predicted lineup courtesy of NHL.com.
Forwards
Brady Tkachuk – Chris Tierney – Connor Brown
Rudolfs Balcers – Colin White – Bobby Ryan
Anthony Duclair – Nick Paul – Jayce Hawryluk
Mikkel Boedker – Matthew Peca – Scott Sabourin
Defense
Thomas Chabot – Ron Hainsey
Mike Reilly – Nikita Zaitsev
Andreas Englund – Christian Wolanin
Goalies
Craig Anderson
Filip Gustavsson
Scratched: None
Injured: Artem Anisimov (upper body), Mark Borowiecki (ankle), Anders Nilsson (concussion), Marcus Hogberg (personal)
Where to watch
Puck drop from SAP Center is at 4:00 PT/7:00 ET. This afternoon’s broadcast will be available on NBC Sports California in the Bay Area and on SN1 in the Ottawa area. Streaming will be available on NHLtv.
There will be a radio call on 98.5 KFOX. You can still listen to the game live over the Sharks + SAP Center app.
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