Batherson breaks tie in 3rd, Senators top Sharks to gain in wild card

OTTAWA -- Drake Batherson scored twice, including the go-ahead goal at 13:08 of the third period, and the Ottawa Senators earned a back-and-forth 7-4 victory against the San Jose Sharks at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday.

Batherson put Ottawa up 5-4 when he deflected Artem Zub’s shot from the blue line.

“I just tried to go to the net there,” Batherson said. “And try to protect my face, was coming pretty high, and got the bounce, and it went in.”

Dylan Cozens then scored from the slot to make it 6-4 at 14:50 before Brady Tkachuk added an empty-net goal at 17:43 for the 7-4 final.

Warren Foegele and Fabian Zetterlund both had a goal and an assist for the Senators (34-23-9), who have won six of nine (6-1-2) and pulled within three points of the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“No one wants it more than the guys in the room,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said of the playoffs. “We’re trying, hoping we can get there. It’s an old cliche, you can only win the next game, and that’s what we’re worried about.”

Linus Ullmark, coming off a 23-save shutout in a 2-0 win against the Ducks on Saturday, made 19 saves in his third straight start.

“We were owed a game like that,” Batherson said. “Where we probably weren’t at our very best tonight but being able to get a win. I thought we played well in games this year where we haven’t won, and we were due for a game like that. So it was a big win. Credit to them, they’ve got a good, skilled team over there.”

Tyler Toffoli and Mario Ferraro each had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (32-27-6), who had won two in a row, including a 4-2 victory against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

“We didn’t match the physicality well enough,” San Jose forward Collin Graf said. “I think they really took it to us in the corners and in battles and stuff like that. And I think that’s sort of what led to our loss.”

San Jose remained one point ahead of the Seattle Kraken for the second wild card from the Western Conference.

“Every team is fighting for something right now,” Graf said. “And everyone’s going to play (hard), especially the teams who are right in the thick of the playoffs. It’s frustrating, but it’s just on us to have a really good game.”

Laurent Brossoit made 17 saves in his first NHL start since April 18, 2024 with the Winnipeg Jets. He missed the entire 2024-25 season with knee and hip injuries and has been playing with the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League this season.

“At this point, it’s bittersweet,” Brossoit said. “During (the game) was pretty surreal, and it’s been a long time coming. I’m more grateful and appreciate being out there more than I ever have. Not the result I wanted, but it’s not all bad. We’ll look at the game tape and be ready for the next one.”

Ferraro gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at 4:05 of the first period on a slap shot from the point off a feed from Shakir Mukhamadullin.

Ottawa tied it 1-1 at 7:33 of the first period on an own goal by the Sharks. Batherson was credited with the goal after his backhand shot across the blue paint was deflected off the stick of Ferraro, going past the left pad of Brossoit.

“Those ones, they don’t shake, they don’t bother you as much,” Brossoit said. “Obviously, they’re unfortunate; there’s nothing you can do. You just move on.”

Toffoli put San Jose ahead 2-1 at 14:43 after deflecting Ferraro’s point shot in front of the crease over Ullmark.

Foegele tied it 2-2 at 4:31 of the second period. A pass up the ice by Ferraro was picked up by Michael Amadio coming off the bench at the blue line. He skated in and passed to Foegle, who sent it five-hole through Brossoit.

“I thought it was a great team effort,” Foegele said. “Guys are battling hard and it’s a lot more fun winning than losing. I think we were just trying to attack the net a little bit more, be a little bit more direct and try to get inside. You never know if it’s going to go in if you don’t shoot it.”

Graf scored in his third straight game to put the Sharks back up 3-2 at 10:46. Macklin Celebrini sent the puck to the front of the net, where Graf won a puck battle against two Senators and got it over the glove of Ullmark.

“Exactly what we’re looking for from everyone in the lineup,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Perfect example.”

Zetterlund’s power-play goal tied it 3-3 at 13:40, shooting one from the point past Brossoit to end a 13-game goal drought.

“We stuck with it,” Zetterlund said. “It wasn’t pretty all the time, but that’s the life of back-to-back, you got to keep it simple. But yeah, I think we played a solid game and really important points.”

Tyler Kleven gave Ottawa its first lead of the game, 4-3, just over a minute later at 14:45. The play started when Foegele picked up a turnover by Graf in the offensive zone and sent the puck to Zetterlund. Zetterlund fed Kleven down low at the edge of the left face-off circle, and he beat Brossoit past the left post.

“I’m super frustrated about that,” Graf said. “It’s a mistake that can’t happen. There’s just poor execution on my part. I think for the rest of the period, it was sort of the same idea.”

Michael Misa tied it 4-4 at 3:28 of the third period when he took a pass at the blue line and skated in to score top right corner.

“I just like how we just stuck with the game,” Green said. “Things weren’t going exactly how we planned. Sometimes that happens. But we just kept playing, having trust in our game that we would come out on the right side.”

NOTES: Batherson recorded his seventh multigoal game of 2025-26. The only Senators players who have posted as many in a single season over the past 15 years are Tkachuk (nine in 2023-34), Tim Stutzle (seven in 2022-23), Josh Norris (seven in 2021-22) and Milan Michalek (seven in 2011-12). … Batherson scored his 55th career power-play goal to surpass Marian Hossa for sole possession of sixth place on the franchise’s all-time list. … Celebrini (65 games) reached the 60-assist mark in the fewest games by a Sharks skater since Erik Karlsson (63 games in 2022-23). He extended his point streak to nine games (seven goals, seven assists).