Askarov Stops 40, Sharks Erupt for Six in Ottawa
Yaroslav Askarov made 40 saves on 42 shots while San Jose's offense erupted for six goals, handing Ottawa a 6-2 loss on home ice. The Sharks flipped a one-goal deficit into a four-goal lead before the second period was over, and they never looked back.
Ottawa drew first blood at 6:16 of the first when Tim Stützle wired his seventh goal of the season past Askarov — a wrist shot set up by Drake Batherson and Warren Foegele that gave the Senators the early edge. It looked like the kind of start that could set the tone for a comfortable home win. San Jose had other ideas. Nolan Allan answered at 11:04 of the first with a snap shot, assisted by Dmitry Orlov, and just like that the game was level heading into the first intermission.
The second period is where this game was decided, and it wasn't subtle. Tyler Toffoli put San Jose ahead at 9:13 on a wrist shot, with Kiefer Sherwood and Jacob Trouba picking up the assists. Less than three minutes later, Collin Graf made it 3-1 at 12:00, and then Trouba himself got in on the scoring at 13:18 — a snap shot assisted by Graf and Darnell Nurse — to push the lead to 4-1. Three goals in under five minutes of game time. Samuel Ersson finished with 22 saves on 26 shots, and that second-period stretch looks like the moment Ottawa simply ran out of answers. The Senators threw 42 shots at Askarov all night and got two goals for their trouble; that's a brutal return against a goaltender who was sharp when it mattered most.
Ottawa got one back early in the third when Jordan Spence scored his first goal of the season at 6:24, assisted by Fabian Zetterlund and Nikolas Matinpalo, trimming the deficit to 4-2 and giving the home crowd something to hold onto. But Zack Ostapchuk snuffed out any comeback hopes at 16:31 with a snap shot off a feed from Barclay Goodrow, and Ivar Stenberg added an empty-netter at 19:43 — Sherwood and Michael Misa picking up the assists — to close it out at 6-2. The story of the night was San Jose's second period: three goals in 4:05 against a team that couldn't solve Askarov at the other end. Collin Graf and Jacob Trouba each finished with two points, Sherwood added two assists, and the Sharks walked out of Ottawa with a convincing road win.