OTTAWA - The San Jose Sharks finally got what they’d been chasing Thursday night: their first regulation win of the season, a 6-2 result over the Ottawa Senators.
Colin Graf set the tone for San Jose with a goal and an assist, while Nolan Allan, Tyler Toffoli, Jacob Trouba, Zack Ostapchuk and Ivar Stenberg each found the net as the Sharks moved to 6-4-1.
Yaroslav Askarov was sharp behind them, turning aside 39 shots to help keep Ottawa from ever fully getting back into the game.
The Senators got goals from Tim Stutzle and Jordan Spence and finished at 7-4-0. Samuel Ersson made 23 saves but is still looking for his first win with Ottawa.
Ottawa’s night got tougher before puck drop, too, after the club placed Linus Ullmark on injured reserve Thursday following a lower-body injury he suffered a night earlier.
San Jose seized control in the second period when Toffoli broke a 1-1 tie at the halfway mark, sneaking a shot through traffic from the point on the power play.
Spence pulled Ottawa within two early in the third, scoring at 6:24 to make it 3-2 and briefly give the Senators some life.
But when Ottawa pulled Ersson on the power play with under four minutes left, the Sharks slammed the door. Ostapchuk scored into the empty net after a giveaway, and Stenberg added another empty-netter to finish it off.
The Senators, the report said, did not bring the same intensity they showed Wednesday against the Panthers and couldn’t finish enough of their chances.
For the Sharks, it was the kind of road performance teams build on: steady, opportunistic, and ruthless when the opening appeared.
Ottawa hosts the New York Rangers on Saturday, while San Jose heads to Boston to face the Bruins.
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