Sharks at Senators
Ottawa was 14-7-5 after defeating the New York Islanders in overtime Dec. 5 and trending upward in the Atlantic Division, with some believing the Senators were a Stanley Cup contender. Ottawa, though, is 2-4-0 since and tries to right the ship Friday against the visiting San Jose Sharks - the NHL's top road team.
The Senators have dropped three of their last four contests after a 2-1 setback to Washington on Wednesday, with all three losses coming on the road. Ottawa is on a stretch which started the night after the Islanders game that has it playing seven of nine contests on the road, where it is a respectable 8-7-1, so Friday's game comes with increased importance. San Jose, meanwhile, is 12-5-1 away from home following a 5-4 overtime victory in Toronto on Thursday. The Sharks have won the first two contests of their five-game road trip after defenseman Brent Burns scored to complete his first three-point effort since recording four on Nov. 29, 2013.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), TSN5, RDS (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (16-14-1): Captain Joe Pavelski and Burns (11 goals, 26 points) each recorded a goal and two assists Thursday, with Pavelski increasing his team-leading totals to 15 tallies and 31 points. Tomas Hertl (three goals, 13 points) returned to the lineup Thursday after missing one game with a lower-body injury and was a minus-2 in 12:02 of ice time. San Jose hasn't allowed a power-play goal in four games (seven chances) and has killed 33-of-36 penalties over its last 11 contests.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (16-11-5): Ottawa boasts the top assist man in the NHL in reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson (28) while Mike Hoffman is tied for fourth with 17 goals and has recorded seven in nine games this month. Bobby Ryan (10 goals) joins Hoffman with 30 points and needs two tallies to reach 200 for his career. The Senators have allowed the first goal in seven straight games and are 6-10-5 when that happens this season.
OVERTIME
1. Ottawa C Zack Smith was fined $2,000 by the NHL on Thursday for diving after drawing a holding penalty on Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos on Dec. 10.
2. Pavelski has scored 109 goals since the 2012-13 lockout - second-most to Washington's Alex Ovechkin (150).
3. The Senators won both meetings last season by a combined 9-4 as Hoffman recorded three goals and Mika Zibanejad added two.