Ottawa Senators defeated the San Jose Sharks in a high-scoring matchup last night at the Canadian Tire Center. The final result was 5-2 for the boys from the Canadian capital, who posted their third win of the season, second in the last three games.
The hosts bounced back quickly after a 2-4 loss to the New York Islanders. But we need to say that the game could have a bit different course if it weren’t for the Senators goalie Craig Anderson. The 38-year old veteran was superb in the opening period, and although allowing one goal, he did make a couple of great saves. However, he had to take the puck outside his net, because San Jose had two players more on the ice due to Borowiecki’s and Brown’s penalties.
Connor Brown brought the Senators to a lead 6:34 into the game, before Evander Kane scored a power-play goal at 9:30. However, the hosts responded through Nick Paul 4:33 before the end of that period for 2-1.
The same player scored his second of the night, 10:59, since the start of the second sequence. Paul also assisted Brown for the first goal, making this his first-ever multipoint game in the NHL.
“This is what I’ve been working for,” said Paul. “This is what I’ve been doing all summer, what I’ve been picturing so it’s nice to finally go that way and get some confidence.”
He began the season with the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators but was recalled Ottawa two weeks ago.
Kevin Labanc decreased the gap 6:46 before the end of the second, but Brady Tkachuk restored the distance with just 51 seconds to go in the same period. The Sharks tried to do something in the third, but unfortunately for them, the Senators added another score. It was Anthony Duclair at 16:36.
“We had some shots, but we didn’t get enough traffic around their goaltender and second opportunities that were there, we just weren’t in the right spots,” said Logan Couture, San Jose’s captain.
It was mostly because of Anderson, who ended the night with 34 saves. His colleague, on the other end, Aaron Dell was replaced after allowing four goals on 22 shots. His replacement Martin Jones conceded on 8 attempts.
Sharks coach Peter DeBoer stated that he isn’t pleased with the way his team played so far this season and that he needs to find a way to wake them up.
“We’re 12 games in and there’s a handful of key guys for us that haven’t played well yet,” said DeBoer. “That’s on me to get them back to the level they need to be at.”
San Jose (4-7-1) has just one win over the previous five games. At the moment, they are on a five-game road trip and have one more game before getting back home, against the Bruins in Boston.
The Senators (3-7-1) are starting their journey through the East coast, also against the Bruins before meeting the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders.
