The road trip continues with SharKPOP X Anime Night in San Jose, where the Senators will have to navigate both an up-and-coming generational talent and an arena full of K-pop beats and cosplayers. Just another Saturday in the NHL.

The Sens opened their west coast swing with a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, with Stephen Halliday notching his first NHL point in his debut and Drake Batherson playing hero late. Ottawa has won two of their last three games and earned points in eight of their past nine contests (5-1-3), showing the grinding resilience that has characterized their recent upswing in play. With Linus Ullmark settling into a streak of four games with a save percentage higher than .900, Thomas Chabot back from injury ahead of schedule, and Brady Tkachuk chomping at the bit to return as soon as American Thanksgiving, there’s a lot to be optimistic about.

Still, the Senators have won just two of their last five visits to SAP Center, so there’s work to do in establishing consistency at this particular California stop.

The Sharks present a unique challenge, largely because of 19-year-old phenom (and Olympic team hopeful) Macklin Celebrini. He tallied 30 points in his team’s first 20 games this season, a mark reached only by two other teenagers in NHL history: Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby. The hype, it turns out, was justified.

The Sharks sit fifth in the Pacific Division with a 10-8-3 record, showing significant improvement from their bottom-feeding ways of recent seasons. They’re tied with Edmonton in points despite having played fewer games (which may say more about the Oilers than the Sharks, but still), and they’ve won six of their last seven at home. This isn’t the pushover San Jose team of years past, and the Senators will need to earn their points.

Tonight also marks Adam Gaudette’s first game against his former team since departing in free agency. The Hockey Gaud put up 19 goals for Ottawa last season, a career high. The fan favourite fourth-liner brought energy and unexpected offence to the Sens before signing a two-year, $4 million deal with San Jose on July 1. The Sharks are likely also dressing Zack Ostapchuk, giving Ottawa two former teammates to contend with.

Expect both of them to be extra motivated for this one. Former players always are, something I believe more firmly than ever after getting blanked by Anton Forsberg just one week ago. At this point, it’s basically a law of hockey.

This is game two of seven on the road trip, and with the Atlantic Division tightening up, every point matters. Six teams are separated by just three points (Detroit leading at 27, Boston just behind at 26, Ottawa tied with Tampa at 24, and Florida and Montreal lurking at 23), meaning the Senators could feasibly finish the California swing anywhere from first to sixth, depending on results around the league. They can’t afford to treat any stop as a scheduled loss – not when you can go to bed in third place and wake up on the outside looking in.

Watch on SN1 at 7pm ET

Senators Lines

Chabby’s back in the projected lines for tonight 💪#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/uD3yt0GobA

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) November 22, 2025

Scratches: Kurtis MacDermid, Nikolas Matinpalo

Injuries: Brady Tkachuk (thumb), Ridly Greig (undisclosed, day-to-day)

Notes: Olle Lycksell was placed on waivers yesterday and cleared this afternoon. He had been in the team’s concussion protocol, but has been skating. Also, Lassi Thomson’s days in the California sun have come to an end; the defenseman was loaned back to Belleville to make room for Chabot’s return.