The Ottawa Senators beat the San Jose Sharks 5-1 at SAP Center on Saturday, October 31, scoring four straight goals after the game was tied 1-1. Dylan Cozens, Drake Batherson, Tim Stutzle, Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto scored for Ottawa, and Samuel Ersson made 21 saves for his first victory with the Senators.
The win snaps a two game skid for Ottawa and moves the Senators to 9-5-1. It also matched the franchise record for wins in October, with nine, equalling the mark set in 2007-08 according to The Canadian Press. Ottawa are 1-1-1 so far on a five game road trip, with the trip continuing in Anaheim on Sunday, November 1.
Three Goals In One Second Period
Cozens opened the scoring at 13:25 of the first period, racing down the right wing around San Jose defenceman Darnell Nurse and putting a snap shot through the five hole of Alex Nedeljkovic. Michael Misa tied it 1-1 at 16:06, finishing into an open net at the edge of the crease after Jacob Trouba collected his own rebound and fed him. The first period ended level, and the game was there for either side.
Ottawa took it in the second, with three goals in a span of just over seven minutes. Batherson put the Senators ahead 2-1 at 5:04, scoring on the rush with a wrist shot from the inside edge of the right face off circle after a return pass from Philip Tomasino. Stutzle made it 3-1 at 10:54, taking a Jake Sanderson feed on the left wing after a drop pass from Cozens and beating Nedeljkovic over the blocker. Greig made it 4-1 at 12:17 with a short handed goal, skating down the middle on a two on one from a Pinto pass and finishing on the backhand by the left pad.
A short handed goal in the middle of a three goal burst is the moment that breaks a home team. San Jose had a power play chance to get back into the game at 3-1 and instead went to the intermission down three. Pinto added an empty net goal at 17:30 of the third period for the 5-1 final.
Stutzle Closes A Record October
Stutzle and Cozens each finished with a goal and an assist. Stutzle closed October with nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points, extending his own franchise record for points in the month according to The Canadian Press. That is the level Ottawa need from their number one centre if this start is going to hold through November, and on this trip he is delivering it in the biggest moments of games.
Batherson quietly kept his own run going as well. His second period goal extended his point streak to seven games, with six goals and six assists across that stretch according to NHL.com. Sanderson added two assists from the blue line, and Ersson, in net, took care of the rest with 21 saves and his first win in an Ottawa sweater. Nedeljkovic made 30 saves at the other end for San Jose, a total that shows Ottawa created plenty beyond the five goals that beat him.
What It Means For Both Sides
For the Sharks, now 7-7-1, this is a third loss in four games, and the pattern will bother them. They were level after one period at home, then gave up three goals in seven minutes and a short handed marker on their own power play. Misa, their young scorer, took his chance well for the only San Jose goal, but the Sharks never built a second push, and the third period passed with Ottawa in control and the empty net goal as the only scoring.
For Ottawa, the value of this win is in the response. Two straight losses had stalled a strong start, and a long western trip can unravel a season quickly. Instead the Senators got scoring from five different players, a short handed goal from their penalty kill, solid goaltending from their backup, and a record matching ninth win in October. Canadian teams are travelling well to start this season, and Ottawa, at 9-5-1, look like a side that expects to be in the playoff picture rather than hoping to fall into it.
What Comes Next
The Senators do not get long to enjoy it. The five game trip continues on Sunday, November 1 against the Anaheim Ducks, the second game of a back to back for Ottawa after the Saturday afternoon start in San Jose. Managing legs and goaltending on a back to back is the next test, and Ersson and his first Ottawa win will have settled the room before that puck drops.
San Jose host the Calgary Flames on Monday. The Sharks need a response at home before this three losses in four stretch becomes something longer, and they need it against another Canadian visitor arriving with points on its mind.
