The San Jose Sharks and the Ottawa Senators are set for battle on Sunday at suppertime. This is NHL Predictions with us here at Last Word On Hockey. Find out our thoughts with analysis, statistics, and key storylines as we do our best to guess the outcome. Both teams are coming off Saturday victories, and need the two points for their respective Stanley Cup Playoff runs.

NHL Predictions Sharks and Senators

Season Series: Ottawa won in November 3-2 in San Jose.

Puck Drop: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) | 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)

How to Watch: TVAS, TSN5, NBCSCA

Location: The iconic Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ontario.

As we head into action today, the Sens have been 10-2-2, that isn’t too shabby by any standards. They continue to look to overcome their tough start to the season, that was largely fueled by poor goaltending. Meanwhile, San Jose has definitely had an up-and-down campaign. However, they do remain in a playoff race in the Pacific Division and Western Conference. Their win yesterday was a big one in Montreal, that was also helpful to the Sens. Likewise to the Sens being hot, the Sharks are 5-1-2 in their last eight.

The Playoff Pictures for the Sens and Sharks

For specifics, the Sens are five points out of the playoffs. They are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference Wild Card standings. Things continue to be very tight. The Sens have 75 points, but six teams are between 79 and 82 points.

Meanwhile, San Jose comes into play sitting in a spot no one expected them to be in. They currently sit in the second Wild Card position. In addition, they are just one point ahead of the Seattle Kraken and the Los Angeles Kings. It goes without saying, it seems both of the teams in today’s game, will be in a fight to the end.

Today’s Matchup

Not unlike Ottawa’s meeting with Anaheim yesterday, San Jose has some similar statistical directionality evident with the Sens. Both teams can struggle defensively, but have their share of snipers offensively. However, how they have arrived at their defensive struggles is different. Shots on goal are a great example. Ottawa is second in fewest shots allowed per game at 24.3. Conversely, San Jose is 31st at 30.4 surrendered per game. The fact San Jose is currently in a playoff spot, with their young defence, is a testament to the emergence of the young stars on forward. Ottawa needs to contain William Eklund and Will Smith, just as much as Macklin Celebrini.

There are a couple familiar faces on either side like Zack Ostapchuk, Adam Gaudette, Fabian Zetterlund, and even James Reimer. Look for a couple of these guys to put in big performances to try to prove the other guys made a mistake in moving on from them.

Injury News and Lineup Notes

Igor Chernyshov took a hard and awkward hit from Mike Matheson yesterday. We expect him to miss some time, as a result.

The Senators have a couple injuries on their blueline. Jake Sanderson is out week-to-week with a shoulder injury. Moreover, Nick Jensen missed yesterday’s contest. It probably doesn’t make sense to get him back in the lineup so quickly, unless he is indeed 100%. Dennis Gilbert filled in yesterday. Lassi Thomson was also called up, so it does give head coach Travis Green some options.

Other defence have been picking it up amidst the injuries. Jordan Spence was at a season-high 22:55 of ice time yesterday. This is helping to drive up his season average, currently at 17:22. However, Thomas Chabot has really been feeling the brunt of the load. Only 12 times has he been above 24 minutes of ice time. But five of those games have come in March. Furthermore, the past two games have been his season highs, being over 27 minutes both times.

The Goalies

By the sounds of it, Reimer will get to celebrate his 38th birthday with a start. It does make sense to give number-one netminder Linus Ullmark a break on the second half of a back-to-back. It’s likely a similar scenario for San Jose. The recently called up Laurent Brossoit is listed as expected. He has been on fire in the AHL this season, with a .915 save percentage in 14 contests.

However, it is a great time for our disclaimer. Please check social media prior to puck drop, to see definitely who gets the nod, before setting your fantasy roster for the day.

Linus Ullmark starts.

Gilbert is in, Jensen won’t play this weekend.

Lassi Thomson is a possibility tomorrow.

— Alex Adams (@alexadamsBTP_) March 14, 2026

 

Ottawa did see a couple player point streaks snapped yesterday. Tim Stutzle‘s third longest in franchise history point streak ended at 14. Also, captain Brady Tkachuk had one end at eight.

Speaking of point streaks. Macklin Celebrini extended his to eight games against Montreal.

NHL Predictions

Ottawa continues to play with lots on the line, and still hopes of a playoff spot. They need to be weary of the Sharks quick, strike ability, something that has plagued them this year.

Prediction: Sharks 2 – Senators 3.

Prop Bets

Well we don’t like any extra pressure on young players, but our pick for San Jose’s anytime goal scorer is Macklin Celebrini. He’s just been too good all year long, and hot recently, too. During his current eight-game point streak, he has seven goals. For Ottawa, Shane Pinto has two goals, five assists, and 14 shots on goal in his last five games. He had a big game yesterday with two assists, and the second star honours. We say take him for the Sens anytime goal getter.

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Main Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

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