Sharks at Senators
Two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson plays his first game in Ottawa since a blockbuster trade to San Jose during the offseason when the struggling Sharks visit the surging Senators on Saturday afternoon. San Jose dropped the first three contests of its five-game road trip as Karlsson was kept off the scoresheet while a combined minus-3 in those contests, making him a minus-9 this season - second-worst on the club to No. 2 defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (minus-10).
"I think we understand, the 25-game mark you have a good feel for your team, and you should,'' San Jose captain Joe Pavelski told reporters after scoring in Wednesday's 5-3 loss at Toronto. "When (coach) Peter (DeBoer) first got here it took 40 to 50 games, and we've got some big pieces here and a lot of new faces so we'll keep building, keep working towards finding it a little bit better." Ottawa has won two straight after Thursday's 3-0 victory over the Rangers in New York as Craig Anderson halted a four-game losing streak with 27 saves for his first shutout of the season. "This was one of the few games that we've actually come together for a full 60 minutes," Anderson told reporters. "We've had spurts of games where we show what we can do, offensively and defensively, and tonight was a full 60 minutes. It was just outstanding to be back there for the guys." Senators forward Matt Duchene, who becomes a free agent at season's end, recorded a goal and an assist Thursday and leads the team with 12 scores and 33 points.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, NBCS California (San Jose), TVA, TSN5 (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (12-9-5): Pavelski, 34, is on pace to surpass his career-high goal total of 41 set in 2013-14 with 16 this season - three in his last two games and 11 in his past 13 contests. Timo Meier (13 goals, 23 points), who has scored only once in his last nine games, missed Thursday's contest with an upper-body injury. Logan Couture (eight goals, 25 points) has two goals and six assists in his last six games, including three assists in the past two.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (11-12-3): Duchene, who has two goals and four assists in his last four games, is a minus-13 with nine goals and 17 points in 25 games versus San Jose. Thomas Chabot has taken over Karlsson's offensive-minded role on the blue line with 29 points - first among NHL defenseman entering Friday - and he's already surpassed his 25 points from his first full season of 2017-18. Mark Stone (11 goals, 28 points) has recorded two goals and two assists in his last three games while Ryan Dzingel (10 goals) registered his 100th career point with an assist Thursday.
OVERTIME
1. Ottawa has the worst penalty-killing unit in the league at 70.1 percent despite not allowing a power-play goal in the last four games (seven chances) while San Jose is 6-for-15 with a man advantage during that span.
2. Senators D Mark Borowiecki is eligible to return from injured reserve after missing the last four games with an undisclosed injury.
3. The clubs have split the last two season series (four meetings) with San Jose F Tomas Hertl scoring three goals in 2017-18 to give him six in eight contests versus Ottawa.