Senators at Sharks
The San Jose Sharks look to keep their perfect record intact when they host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. San Jose extended its season-opening winning streak to four games Thursday with a 4-1 road triumph over the Vancouver Canucks. Brent Burns registered a tally and an assist while Matt Pelech scored his first career goal as the Sharks posted their ninth consecutive victory over the Canucks, including last season's playoffs.
Ottawa continues its season-opening six-game road trip after dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. The Senators allowed the game's first three goals before storming back to force the extra session and extend their point streak to three contests. Ottawa hopes to have Jason Spezza back in the lineup after the captain sat out Wednesday's game with a sore groin.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CBC (Ottawa), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE SENATORS (1-0-2): Ottawa has scored a total of eight goals in its first three games, with eight different players tallying. Bobby Ryan recorded his first goal as a Senator on Wednesday and set up the tying score by Milan Michalek with 4:27 remaining in the third period. "It's only been a couple of games, but it felt like a long time coming with the way the summer went," Ryan said of netting his first tally. "I'm very, very excited to get the ball rolling."
ABOUT THE SHARKS (4-0-0): Rookie sensation Tomas Hertl was kept off the scoresheet Thursday after scoring four goals against the New York Rangers two days earlier. Captain Joe Thornton continues to climb up the NHL's scoring lists. Thornton set up a pair of tallies against Vancouver to increase his career assists total to 791, passing Peter Stastny for 32nd place and moving within two of Guy Lafleur for 31st. He also surged ahead of Darryl Sittler for 54th on the all-time scoring list with 1,122 points.
OVERTIME
1. Three of San Jose's four victories this season have been 4-1 decisions, including both against Vancouver.
2. One night after facing the Sharks, Ryan will meet his former teammates in Anaheim for the first time since being acquired by Ottawa over the summer.
3. Pelech, Hertl and fellow rookie Matt Nieto all have scored their first NHL goal and registered a game-winner this season.