Macklin Celebrini, Sharks set sights on surging Senators
The San Jose Sharks will look to strengthen their hold on a playoff spot and extend their winning streak to three games when they visit the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.
The Sharks are coming off consecutive 4-2 road victories against the Boston Bruins on Thursday and Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. They're 5-1-2 in their past eight games, a stretch that's helped them climb into the second wild-card spot from the Western Conference.
"A lot of guys bought in playing the right way," center Macklin Celebrini said. "We did a good job of not making it difficult on ourselves. [The Canadiens are] a great team and they hemmed us a few times, but we did a great job weathering it and just handling it."
Celebrini collected two goals and an assist against Montreal to extend his point streak to eight games. The 19-year-old has 13 points (seven goals, six assists) during that stretch, bringing his season total to 94 points (35 goals, 59 assists) -- 49 points more than teammate Will Smith, who is second on the team with 45 points (19 goals, 26 assists).
"I think the best players in the game find ways to create offense, find ways to impact games in different ways, and we've seen that all year long from Mack," San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "The world saw it in the Olympics, but when he gets going -- and you could tell he had his legs tonight -- he gets going and wants to make things happen, and that's the type of player he is. He's ultra-competitive. He's a gamer."
Sunday will be the fourth outing on a five-game road trip for the Sharks, who opened it with a 6-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
And while San Jose finds itself above the playoff line in the Western Conference, Ottawa is looking to inch closer to the final wild-card spot from the East.
The Senators rebounded from a 3-2 loss to the Canadiens on Wednesday with a 2-0 triumph against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. Michael Amadio and Thomas Chabot scored in the second period against the Ducks, and Linus Ullmark held the fort the rest of the way to cap a 23-save performance.
Ottawa, which is 10-2-2 in its past 14 games, now sits five points behind the Detroit Red Wings, who currently hold the second wild card.
"We're too good a team not to make it, but we've still got some work to do," Senators coach Travis Green said. "We've got to take it one game at a time."
Ullmark delivered a bounce-back effort in goal after he and his teammates came up short against Montreal.
"We talked about the last game, and we weren't happy with the result," Ullmark said. "We knew we had to play a good game, and, coming into this one, we knew we had to be ready from the start. We had to try to bring a playoff mentality."
James Reimer is expected to get the start in goal against the Sharks as he celebrates his 38th birthday. The veteran has won three of his past four starts.