San Jose’s penalty kill produced the kind of night coaches gladly accept and wisely refuse to plan around. The Sharks scored twice while shorthanded in Thursday’s 6-2 win over Ottawa, including one goal during a three-goal second-period burst. Yaroslav Askarov then handled the less glamorous assignment: stopping 41 of 43 shots while the Senators kept coming.
That combination delivered San Jose’s first regulation win of the season and moved the Sharks to 6-4-1 after 11 games. It also gave San Jose a final score simpler than the shot totals suggested. Ottawa held a 43-28 advantage in shots, including an 18-11 edge in the second period and a 17-6 margin in the third.
San Jose won the special-teams exchange. Askarov prevented that advantage from becoming temporary.
The second-period surge began at 9:13, when Tyler Toffoli converted on the power play to put the Sharks ahead 2-1. Tim Stützle had given Ottawa the early lead at even strength, and Nolan Allan tied the game for San Jose in the opening period. Toffoli’s goal was the conventional part of the evening: an extra skater created an opportunity, and the Sharks used it.
At 12:00, the manpower advantage belonged to Ottawa. The scoreboard still moved in San Jose’s favor. Collin Graf scored short-handed to make it 3-1, turning a penalty kill from a defensive chore into an attacking moment. That is exactly the sort of swing special teams can provide when the opponent’s advantage becomes an invitation to counter.
Jacob Trouba added an even-strength goal 1:18 later. In 4:05, San Jose had scored at three different strengths: power play, penalty kill and even strength. The sequence did not establish total control; Ottawa still outshot the Sharks in that period. It established something more precise and more useful: San Jose made its limited scoring opportunities count while the game was still close.
The penalty kill finished with two goals and no goals allowed on Ottawa’s three power plays. San Jose went 1 for 2 with the man advantage, producing a 3-0 special-teams margin. Graf’s goal was the centerpiece, but its value depends partly on its rarity.
A short-handed goal can change a game because it is an unexpected reward, not because it is a repeatable substitute for creating offense at five-on-five.
Askarov supplied the sturdier part of the performance. He stopped all 18 Ottawa shots in the second period, the same period in which San Jose scored three times. In the third, with the Senators holding a 17-6 shot edge, he turned aside 16 of 17.
The Sharks’ lead gave him some margin, but the goalie still had to keep that margin from shrinking every time Ottawa generated another attempt.
The distinction became important when Jordan Spence scored for Ottawa with 6:24 played in the third period, reducing San Jose’s advantage to 4-2. The Senators had a route back into the game, at least mathematically. Askarov kept the margin at two until San Jose added its late empty-net goals.
