With the NHL playoff races tightening, the Ottawa Senators host Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks on Sunday afternoon (5 pm, TSN 5, TVAS) in a game with significant implications for both teams. The Senators (33-23-9) begin play on Sunday five points behind both Boston (WC1) and Detroit (WC2). Ottawa has a game in hand on the Bruins and two on the Wings, a team they'll meet head-to-head a week from Tuesday in Detroit. This weekend's visits from Western teams are a reminder of how much easier life would be for the Senators if they played in the other conference. Only three teams in the entire Western Conference (Colorado, Dallas, and Minnesota) have a better record than the Senators (.577). Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss the transition back to the NHL after the intensity of the Olympics. San Jose (32-22-6) holds WC2 out west, just one point up on Seattle and Los Angeles. So both teams are highly motivated, fighting for their playoff lives, and both may face a little fatigue at some point. The Sharks played last night, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. The Senators also played earlier in the day, blanking the Anaheim Ducks, 2-0, on a 23-save shutout by Linus Ullmark. As is often the case in part two of a back-to-back, it was expected that both teams would go to their backup goalies. On his 38th birthday, James Reimer will not get the call against his former team. On Linus Ullmark bobblehead day, the Sens will go to the big Swede once again, hoping he can keep the magic up from Saturday's performance. Having seen the preview, it would have been nice if they didn't give the Ullmark figurine a wobbly trapper. Meanwhile, for a third straight game, the Senators will face a goalie who was recently in the American Hockey League. The Sharks will go Laurent Brossoit, who will play in his first NHL game since April of 2024. The former Winnipeg Jet was recalled from San Jose's AHL club on Friday and was the backup against Montreal on Saturday. After Canadiens callup Jacob Fowler and Anaheim's Ville Husso absolutely stood on their heads in the past two games in Ottawa, the Senators shouldn't expect Brossoit to be anything less than Vezina-level on Sunday. The game does mark the return of former Senators Adam Gaudette and Zack Ostapchuk. Gaudette had 19 goals for the Sens last season but signed as a free agent with the Sharks over the summer. He has 14 goals and 7 assists in 51 games. Ostapchuk was part of last year's Fabian Zetterlund trade. The Senators thought it was a clear upgrade for them, and paid a stiff salary cap price for it, but they're both fourth-liners, getting 9-11 minutes per night. The Senators continue to be without Jake Sanderson and while his absence leaves a big void, the rest of the group has done a fine job of stepping up in his absence. Out of the three games since Sanderson was hurt in Seattle, the Senators have posted a pair of shutout victories. Jordan Spence has probably elevated his game the most, logging more ice time (22:55) against the Ducks than any Senator not named Thomas Chabot (27:24). He was excellent versus Anaheim on Saturday afternoon. Clearly, the Sens' big task on Sunday will be to shut down Celebrini, whose 94 points in 64 games as a teenager is all kind of ridiculous. But they won't face Igor Chernyshov, another promising youngster for San Jose. Cherynshov has 11 points in his first 16 NHL games, but was caught with his head down by Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson on Saturday. The neutral zone collision wasn't that hard, but Chernyshov's skates seemed to get caught up with Matheson's stick, tripping him up and sending him airborne. He appeared to be knocked unconscious after he fell hard to the ice. Disturbingly, with wobbling legs, the rookie tried twice to get up before linesmen came to his aid. Projected lineups (NHL.com) San Jose Sharks Collin Graf -- Macklin Celebrini -- Will Smith Adam Gaudette -- Alexander Wennberg -- Kiefer Sherwood William Eklund -- Michael Misa -- Tyler Toffoli Barclay Goodrow -- Zack Ostapchuk -- Ryan Reaves Dmitry Orlov -- John Klingberg Mario Ferraro -- Shakir Mukhamadullin Sam Dickinson -- Vincent Desharnais Laurent Brossoit Alex Nedeljkovic Scratched: Pavol Regenda, Nick Leddy, Philipp Kurashev Injured: Ty Dellandrea (lower body), Yaroslav Askarov (lower body), Igor Chernyshov (undisclosed) Ottawa Senators Drake Batherson -- Tim Stutzle -- Claude Giroux Brady Tkachuk -- Dylan Cozens -- Ridly Greig Nick Cousins -- Shane Pinto -- Michael Amadio Warren Foegele -- Lars Eller -- Fabian Zetterlund Thomas Chabot -- Artem Zub Tyler Kleven -- Jordan Spence Dennis Gilbert -- Nikolas Matinpalo James Reimer Linus Ullmark Scratched: Stephen Halliday, Kurtis MacDermid Injured: Jake Sanderson (upper body), Nick Jensen (lower body) Steve Warne The Hockey News
