Steve Warne Sat, October 31, 2026 at 3:44 PM UTC · 3 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Senators continue their five-game Western road trip in San Jose on Saturday afternoon, with a couple of new faces expected to join the lineup.
Belleville's top two scorers, Philip Tomasino and Xavier Bourgault, were recalled on Friday after injuries to Warren Foegele and Andre Burakovsky, along with a two-game suspension to Hayden Hodgson, left the club desperately short of forwards.
Shane Pinto says the Sens need to find a way to bring Thursday's third period performance into their game in San Jose on Saturday afternoon (Senators YouTube).
Foegele suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights and is expected to miss an extended period. Burakovsky was injured in Thursday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings, while Hodgson received his suspension for a vicious hit on Kings defenceman Brandt Clarke.
The three absences left the Senators with just 10 available forwards, forcing them to turn to Belleville for reinforcements.
Tomasino brings considerable NHL experience to the lineup. The former Nashville Predators first-round pick has played more than 200 NHL games and has been producing offensively in Belleville, collecting 11 points in 10 games this season.
Bourgault, a former first-round selection of the Edmonton Oilers, has also been off to a strong start with nine points.
For the first time this season, the Senators find themselves on a losing streak, although Thursday's thrilling comeback in Los Angeles provided at least one encouraging sign.
Trailing 5-1 with less than 13 minutes remaining in regulation, the Sens scored four unanswered goals to force overtime before Quinton Byfield gave the Kings a 6-5 victory.
It was a remarkable comeback that salvaged a valuable point from a game that appeared completely lost.
Still, the Senators have some defensive issues to address. Since losing starting goaltender Linus Ullmark to injury, they've surrendered 20 goals in four games. Granted, four of those were empty net goals against, but that still tracks to a goals against average of 4.00 in game since Ullmark was hurt.
The Senators enter Saturday's game with an 8-5-1 record, good for third place in the Atlantic Division. They'll be looking to turn the momentum from Thursday's comeback into a much-needed victory.
Saturday's game will also be an opportunity for Dylan Cozens to continue his success against the Sharks.
Cozens has 11 points in 11 career games against San Jose, including five goals.
He's also picked it up after a sluggish start. After just three points in his first 11 games, he now has five in his last three.
San Jose enters Saturday's game with a 7-6-1 record, good for fourth place in the Pacific Division, with a 5-3-0 home record.
The Sharks are coming off a 3-2 comeback victory over the Vancouver Canucks and have already enjoyed success against the Senators this season.
The teams met just nine days ago, with San Jose winning 6-2. The result included two empty net goals in a game the Sens dominated for long stretches but couldn't score.
Macklin Celebrini continues to lead the Sharks offensively with 16 points, while Will Smith has six goals on the season.
The Senators have historically enjoyed success against San Jose, holding a 24-19-4-2 record in the all-time series.
Modest as it is, the Sens are on their first losing slide of the season, but they still haven't lost back to back games in regulation. They would like to steady the ship before heading to Anaheim for Sunday night's game.
But much of that will depend on one of their backup goalies stepping up. The disparity between Ullmark and his backups so far borders on the outrageous.
Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET at SAP Center in San Jose.
Source: Sports
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