Senators Pay For Defensive Breakdowns In 6-2 Loss To Sharks

After Wednesday night's wild and emotional 5-1 victory over Brady Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers, the Ottawa Senators were probably due for a letdown.

And playing again less than 24 hours later certainly didn't help.

The Senators fell 6-2 to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre, although the game was considerably closer than the final score suggests.

After falling behind 4-1 in the second period, the Senators took complete control of the game, but couldn't capitalize on a steady stream of scoring opportunities.

Tim Stützle and Jordan Spence scored for the Senators, who outshot the Sharks 43-28, including a 17-6 advantage in the third period. Travis Green said after the game that the Sens probably created more chances on Thursday night than they have in any game all year.

Jacob Trouba and Colin Graf each had a goal and an assist for San Jose.

The Senators opened the scoring on Stützle's seventh goal of the season, but Nolan Allan replied five minutes later by roofing a snapshot to tie the game at one.

Things unravelled badly for the Senators in the second period.

Team defence has been one of the club's strengths this season, but it completely deserted them during a disastrous four-minute stretch that saw the Sharks score three unanswered goals.

Tyler Toffoli started the damage at 9:13, when his power play wrist shot from the point deflected off the shaft of Artem Zub's stick and past Samuel Ersson to give San Jose a 2-1 lead.

Then things got ugly with the Senators power play unit getting a little too casual on D.

Graf scored his second of the season, shorthanded, on what should have been a routine two-on-two situation.

But a spectacular miscommunication between Stephen Halliday and Jake Sanderson left Graf completely uncovered as he headed for the far post. He accepted a perfect pass and easily converted to make it 3-1.

The defensive breakdown on Trouba's goal was even worse.

With the Sharks coming off a penalty kill, Graf controlled the puck deep in the Senators' corner. Halliday, Sanderson, and Drake Batherson all decided to converge on him, somehow leaving Trouba completely alone in front of the net.

Graf simply slid the puck to Trouba, who tapped it past Ersson for a 4-1 lead.

The video of that goal might someday find its way into a Hockey Canada coaching clinic as an example of what not to do defensively.

Ersson was making the start in place of Linus Ullmark, and he's going to need to get comfortable in the role quickly. Ullmark is expected to miss at least two weeks with the lower-body injury he suffered against Florida on Wednesday.

To their credit, the Senators didn't fold after falling behind by three. In fact, they dominated much of the remaining game.

Spence cut the deficit to 4-2 with a beautiful wrist shot, and the Senators continued to generate quality chances, particularly during a one-sided third period.

Nobody had worse luck than Batherson.

With a wide-open net staring him in the face, Batherson appeared certain to score. But Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov desperately threw out his glove on a wing and a prayer.

Of all the places Batherson could have shot the puck, he somehow managed to find the geometric centre of Askarov's trapper.

It was that kind of night.

With a late Sharks penalty in the third, the Senators pulled Ersson for a six-on-four advantage.

But the comeback wasn't to be.

Former Senator Zack Ostapchuk scored into the empty net to put the game away, and Ivar Stenberg added another empty-net goal to complete the scoring.

The loss continued a troubling early-season trend for the Senators in back-to-back situations.

They're now 0-3-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season, matching their total number of losses in those situations from all of last season, when they posted an impressive 9-3-0 record.

The Senators will have Friday to regroup before hosting the New York Rangers on Saturday night at Canadian Tire Centre. After an emotional high on Wednesday and a frustrating low on Thursday, a day off probably couldn't come at a better time.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa