Reinforcement arrive as Senators sink Sharks and snap five-game losing skid
Published
OTTAWA - With the Ottawa Senators riding a five-game losing streak and sitting outside the playoff picture there was a sense of desperation Saturday night.
Ottawa (30-25-4) had some reinforcements for the game with Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto and Josh Norris all returning to the lineup and they had a significant impact in a 5-3 win over the struggling San Jose Sharks.
The Senators didn’t get off to a great start but made up for it with a strong finish.
Trailing 2-1 to start the third, the Senators scored a pair of goals 94 seconds apart to take the lead.
Tkachuk tied the game scoring on a two-man advantage and just over a minute later a weird bounce provided Tim Stutzle with an empty net for his 19th of the year.
David Perron made it a two-goal game, beating Vitek Vanecek, who made 27 saves, midway through the period.
Will Smith scored a power-play goal with 1:27 remaining to make it close, but Michael Amadio scored into an empty net to seal the win.
The Sharks (15-37-9), who are winless in their last eight (0-5-3), led 2-1 after the second period thanks to a pair of power-play goals.
Tyler Toffoli was credited with San Jose’s first of the night after his shot deflected off Jake Sanderson’s skate to beat Linus Ullmark, who stopped 34 shots. The win was Ullmark’s first since Dec. 19.
Timothy Liljegren gave the Sharks the lead when he beat Ullmark with a shot from the blue line.
The Sharks dominated play for the opening minutes of the game, but Ottawa capitalized on a San Jose turnover to take a 1-0 lead.
The Sharks fumbled the puck on the power play leading to Ridley Greig feeding Shane Pinto who made no mistake scoring his 12th of the season.
TAKEAWAYS
Ottawa: The Senators started slow and didn’t have their best game overall but managed to capitalize on their chances.
San Jose: The Sharks controlled the game for long stretches but weren’t able to shut down the Senators when most needed.
KEY MOMENT
The Senators made the most of a two-man advantage in the third period to tie the game 2-2.
KEY STAT
Tim Stutzle of the Senators is riding an 11-game point streak with 16 points (four goals, 12 assists).
UP NEXT
Sharks: Visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.
Senators: Visit the Washington Capitals on Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2025.