When the Sharks traded Fabian Zetterlund last
March, there was obvious resentment by their former winger following the
transaction. Zetterlund returned to San Jose on Saturday night nad got his
revenge, scoring a goal to tie the game before Tim Stutzle scored a 3rd period
goal to help the Ottawa Senators beat San Jose before their first sellout crowd
of the season.
Even upon his return, Zetterlund made no secret that
his friendship with fellow Swede William Eklund was a big part of his affinity
for the South Bay. He would get the last laugh on Saturday, helping to hand the
Sharks their first regulation loss at SAP Center in the month of November.
Mistakes were the story of the night for San Jose. They had to
surrender an apparent goal early, then allowed Ottawa to score on a pair of
poor line changes. That was a 3 goal swing, that buried San Jose.
The
Sharks appeared to grab the early lead when Will Smith put a puck past Linus
Ullmark on a feed from Macklin Celebrini at 1:27, but the Senators immediately
challenged the play for offside. Replay video clearly showed that Smith was
over the blueline ahead of the puck as San Jose entered the Ottawa zone.
Things got tougher for San Jose 7 minutes in when Jake Sanderson sent
Philipp Kurashev head first in to the boards with a questionable hit, but then
the Sharks forward was sent off for retaliating.
Ottawa took all of 22
seconds to convert on the ensuing power play when Tim Stutzle threw a puck to
the front of the Sharks net where Dylan Cozens deflected it past Alex
Nedeljkovic for a 1-0 lead.
Former Senator Zack Ostapchuk just missed
on a breakaway chance at the 11 minute mark.
Hayden Hodgson was sent
off for a dangerous hit on Mario Ferraro at 15:06. Hodgson left his skates and
caught Ferraro in the right ear with an elbow that sent the sharks defenseman
to the locker room.
John Klingberg made the Senators pay for Hodgson's
misdeed by pumping a shot past Ullmark from the top of the right circle. The
defenseman was benched earlier in the week, so his return to the power play
paid dividends.
Ryan Reaves would take care of Hodgson in the 2nd
period with what was ruled a fighting major, but was more like Hodgson getting
up close and personal with Reaves right fist.
Tim Stutzle was then
called for slashing with 1:19 to play in the period. The Sharks made an attempt
right before the buzzer when Alex Wennberg put a quality shot on Ullmark from
the slot.
Barclay Goodrow staked the Sharks to the 2-1 lead at 7:47
right after they extinguished a Timothy Liljegren interference penalty. The
Sharks forced a turnover in the neutral zone before racing up ice and putting a
shot on Ullmark. The Senators goaltender made the initial attempt on Ferraro's
attempt, but Goodrow was there to cleanup from the doorstep.
Ottawa
equalized late in the period when Zetterlund gathered a Tyler Kleven feed and
snapped a shot past Nedeljkovic for only his 2nd goal in 21 games. The Sharks
allowed Zetterberg to walk in on Nedeljkovic for the 15-foot shot after an
ill-timed line change. Defenseman Timothy Liljegren also pinched on the play,
allowing the Senators to transition without any opposition.
Klingberg took a tripping penalty with 13 seconds
left in the period, allowing the Senators to carry forward a majority of the
penalty time over to the 3rd period. San Jose would kill the penalty, but their
special teams play was clearly not a strong point throughout the game.
A Lars Eller hooking penalty turned into a pair of quality chances for the team
trying to kill the penalty. The Sharks were tentative with the puck and it
almost turned disastrous when a turnover resulted in multiple quality chances
for the Senators.
Ottawa grabbed a 3-2 lead at 13:22 after yet another
bad line change. With two skaters in teal jumping off the ice, the Senators
quickly moved the puck up ice for a scoring chance in tight. Drake Batherson
and nick Cousins crashed the net, forcing Nedeljkovic to lunge for a shot on
the left side. He stopped it but the put sat perched right on the goal line.
Klingberg had all day to clear it to safety, but when he reached for
the puck his stick got caught up on Nedeljkovic's left pad. Stutzle came
screaming in to poke it home for his 11th goal of the season.
San Jose
pulled Nedeljkovic with 2:21 to play. Wennberg had the best look at Ullmark
with 10 seconds to play, but it was not to be.
Game
Notes: * Former Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund made his return to
San Jose for the first time since he was traded to the Senators last March. The
left winger has struggled for the Senators this season, playing primarily on
the team's 3rd or 4th lines. He has scored 1 goal in 20 games this season. San
Jose sent Zetterlund and Tristen Robbins to Ottawa in exchange for Zack
Ostapchuk, Noah Gregor and a 2nd round pick that they used to select center
Cole McKinney.
* Sharks owner Hasso Plattner was in attendance for the
third consecutive game. The reclusive German has rarely BR>
* Former
Sharks captain Logan Couture was in attendance with his young son. Couture
received a nice ovation when he was shown on the center ice screen.
*
The Sharks were a horrific 21-for-54 from the faceoff circle for a 39%
conversion. Claude Giroux was 17-for-21 (81%) from the circle.
* The
game marked the first sellout of the season.
