SENATORS 7, SHARKS 4
Mission accomplished for the Ottawa Senators.
The Senators made the most of working on the weekend by completing a back-to-back sweep with a 7-4 victory over Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks in front of 18,764 on Sunday evening at the Canadian Tire Centre.
With a 2-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday and this win against San Jose, the Senators moved within three points of the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins for the final two playoff spots in the East with 16 games left.
For the second straight night, the fans were chanting, “We want playoffs” in the final few minutes.
Drake Batherson of the Ottawa Senators celebrates his goal with teammates in the first period against the San Jose Sharks at Canadian Tire Centre on March 15, 2026.
“You love to hear it,” said coach Travis Green. “No one wants it more than the guys in the room. We’re trying; hopefully we can get there.”
Green couldn’t be more correct on that front.
Drake Batherson scored twice, while former Sharks winger Fabian Zetterlund had a two-point effort as the Senators won this shootout. Brady Tkachuk, Dylan Cozens, Tyler Kleven and Warren Foegele also chipped in with goals.
Batherson had no reason to complain that he didn’t get the bounces. His winning goal came on a shot by defenceman Artem Zub that ricocheted off Batherson’s shoulder and into the net at 13:08 of the third.
“I just tried to go to the net and tried to protect my face,” Batherson said. “It was coming pretty high. I got a good bounce and it went in.”
Cozens then put it away at 14:50 of the third.
Fans cheer as Warren Foegele of the Ottawa Senators celebrates his goal in the second period against the San Jose Sharks at Canadian Tire Centre on March 15, 2026.
This was Laurent Brossoit’s first NHL start since April 18, 2024, while he was with the Winnipeg Jets. He missed all of last season after hip surgery and was dealt to the Sharks by the Chicago Blackhawks last month.
The Senators had to take advantage of that fact, and they did by moving their record to 6-3-1 in the second game of back-to-backs.
Doing double duty
This wasn’t one of Linus Ullmark’s better nights.
It was the first time this season that Ullmark had started both ends of a back-to-back. The last time was a 3-0 win on Dec. 13 in Carolina, and then 24 hours later, a 3-2 overtime win in Ottawa against Pittsburgh.
Tyler Toffoli of the San Jose Sharks scores against Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators in the first period at Canadian Tire Centre on March 15, 2026.
Coming off a 23-save shutout against Anaheim, Ullmark came into this game with an 8-0-0 lifetime record versus the Sharks with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
Michael Misa tied it up 4-4 at 3:28 of the third with a shot that Ullmark needed to make the save on, but thankfully he had a little help from the offence. Ullmark allowed four goals on 23 shots.
Chasing the game
The Senators trailed three times and had to battle back, but Kleven’s third of the season at 14:45 of the second gave the club its first lead at 4-3. The club scored two goals in a span of 1:05.
The Senators had strong resilience.
“We just stuck with it,” said Green.
Zetterlund must love facing his former team. He scored his second goal of the year against the Sharks and his first in 14 games to tie it up 3-3 on the power play at 13:40 of the second.
“Luckily, I scored against them,” said Zetterlund. “It was a huge win.”
Michael Amadio of the Ottawa Senators attempts a wraparound on Laurent Brossoit of the San Jose Sharks in the second period at Canadian Tire Centre on March 15, 2026.
Celebrini won a puck battle against Thomas Chabot to set up No. 19 of the season by Collin Graff at 10:46 of the second. He pushed the puck by Ullmark on the doorstep with two Ottawa defenders in the area.
Foegele tied it up 2-2 with his second goal in five games since being dealt to the Senators. He came off the bench, took a drop pass and beat Brossoit with a shot that found its way into the net at 4:31 of the second.
“We’ve just got to keep chipping away and taking it day-by-day,” Foegele said. “Last night, you celebrated for a couple of hours, and then you focused on tonight. It’s that time of year when you try to dig in because the points are so crucial that you’ve got to focus on the task at hand.
“I thought our group did a great job of that.”
Quick start
The Sharks and Senators didn’t disappoint with a strong pace in the first, but San Jose pulled out to a 2-1 lead. The Senators were outshot 12-5 by the Sharks, but had some missed opportunities
San Jose’s Mario Ferraro played a role in all three goals by the Sharks and Senators in the first period. His shot from the point was tipped by former 67’s winger Tyler Toffoli in front and by Ullmark after a faceoff win by the San Jose in the Ottawa zone at 14:43.
Batherson’s attempted pass on a power play tipped off Ferraro’s stick in front and by Brossoit to tie it 1-1 at 7:33. Batherson was credited with the goal, but hadn’t officially registered a shot after 20 minutes.
Zack Ostapchuk of the San Jose Sharks battles with Dennis Gilbert of the Ottawa Senators in the first period at Canadian Tire Centre on March 15, 2026.
TSN’s Gord Miller said that “own goals are not a shot on goal.”
“I haven’t scored a lot of those. I will take them any way I can,” said Batherson, who added he was trying to find Tim Stutzle with a back-door pass.
The Sharks opened the scoring on their third shot. A turnover led to an odd-man rush for San Jose, which allowed Ferraro to take a pass at the point, and he fired it through Ullmark’s five-hole at 4:05 of the first.
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