Losing streak over, Senators hit road to face Sharks

The Ottawa Senators will look to make it back-to-back wins when they open a three-game California road trip with a contest against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

Ottawa edged the visiting Calgary Flames 4-3 on Monday night to snap a five-game skid (0-4-1).

Captain Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson each had a goal and an assist against the Flames, while Cole Reinhardt scored his first NHL goal. Adam Gaudette had the other Ottawa goal.

The Senators were outscored 21-11 during the winless stretch.

“I mean, when you’ve lost a few in a row, and there’s been a lot of talk around Ottawa about losing a few in a row, it’s nice to get a win,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “A good 60 minutes of hockey. I don’t think we overthought the game. We took what it gave us. We deserved to win.”

Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark, who is 4-7-1 with an .881 save percentage and a 3.10 goals-against average in 13 games this season, is 5-0-0 in five career appearances against the Sharks, posting a .932 save percentage and a 1.82 GAA.

Tkachuk has a team-leading 11 goals this season, while Tim Stutzle paces Ottawa with 16 assists and 25 points.

On Tuesday, the Senators recalled defenseman Donovan Sebrango from AHL Belleville and placed Artem Zub (foot fracture) on long-term injured reserve. It would be Sebrango’s first NHL game if he plays on Wednesday.

The Senators and Sharks split a pair of games last season, with Ottawa winning 5-4 on its home ice on Jan. 13 and the Sharks prevailing 2-1 on March 9 in San Jose.

The Sharks snapped a three-game skid on Monday, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 7-2.

Rookie Macklin Celebrini registered his first career three-point game, scoring twice in the third period after an earlier assist.

Celebrini became just the second 18-year-old in team history with a three-point game, joining Patrick Marleau, who accomplished the feat in 1998.

Fabian Zetterlund, Alex Wennberg, Luke Kunin, Timothy Liljegren and Nico Sturm also scored for the Sharks. Will Smith and William Eklund recorded two assists each.

The contest was tied 2-2 before the Sharks scored five time in the final period.

“I thought we had a pretty solid hockey game,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Obviously, (there are) some things we have to look at and get a little bit better in certain areas, but credit to the guys. If you look back, the third period has probably been our best period consistently all year. To put a couple of goals in the back of the net was important for our group.”

Mikael Granlund, who has a team-leading 24 points in 23 games, missed a game for the first time this season due to an upper-body injury on Monday. Givani Smith replaced Granlund on Monday.

Granlund, Zetterlund and Tyler Toffoli have nine goals each to pace the Sharks this season.

Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, who made 22 saves for his first win of the season on Monday, was reassigned to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda on Tuesday. In a corresponding move, the Sharks recalled defenseman Jack Thompson, who has two goals and three assists in 13 NHL games this season.

San Jose goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is 4-7-3 with a 3.07 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 14 games this season. In seven career games against Ottawa, Blackwood is 3-2-2 with an .886 save percentage and a 3.33 GAA.

–Field Level Media

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