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The San Jose Sharks came up short against the Ottawa Senators yesterday, falling 5-2.
San Jose managed to open the scoring on a power play after a flurry of shots, with Tomas Hertl getting a bounce off the end boards and burying the puck at the side of the net. However, Ottawa capitalized on a power play of their own only three minutes later, with Brady Tkchuk burying a puck off a scramble in-close. The Sharks came right back though, with Tomas Hertl finishing off a nice passing play on a rush, putting San Jose back ahead only 38 seconds later. San Jose did give up 14 shots in the frame, but go to the intermission with the lead intact.
We saw a fight between Jonah Gadjovich and Mark Kastelic early in the second frame, but then a few minutes later, Matt Benning committed a disastrous turnover, throwing the puck right out front of his own net and Claude Grioux one-timed a shot past Kaapo Kahkonen. Then later in the frame, Drake Batherson found Tim Stutzle at the side of the net on another power play, as Ottawa took their first lead of the game.
The Senators doubled the lead on yet another power play about five minutes into the period, with Thomas Chabot ripping a one-timer through Kahkonen. The Sharks did end up having some great chances on a power play later in the frame, sustaining a ton of pressure, but just couldn’t manage to convert. Then just as it expired, the Sharks turned the puck over and Claude Giroux went down ice on a partial 2-on-0 and just ripped a slapshot past Kahkonen, extending the lead to 5-2 and securing a Senators win.
It wasn’t strictly a bad outing for the Sharks, but there were certainly a lot of mistakes. Kaapo Kahkonen wasn't great, so that didn't help either. That said, while there were a lot of chances exchanged, San Jose had their share of opportunities too, registering 37 shots.
Special teams were the difference-maker, with San Jose’s typically dominant penalty kill giving up three goals. Meanwhile, the Sharks did capitalize once on the man advantage but obviously lost the special teams battle overall. This was basically represented by Sharks having a ton of chances on that power play in the third period and just somehow not being able to capitalize, before Ottawa went right back down the other way and sealed the win off Giroux's goal.
Despite going 1-2-0 on their road trip so far, the Sharks have been playing alright, keeping pace in each game. The reality is that while they continue to make a lot of mistakes, they're staying competitive in games, which should kind of be the goal at this point. They’ll be back in action tonight, when they face the Buffalo Sabres in the final game of their road trip.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER
Sharks come up short against Maple Leafs, fall 3-1 
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