OTTAWA – Chris Tierney scored a late equalizer, and Kevin Labanc gave the Sharks their second straight win in a shootout, 4-3 over Ottawa on Wednesday night at Canadian Tire Centre.
In a 2-2 game, the Senators took a late third period lead on a Dion Phaneuf power play goal. The defenseman took a pass from fellow blueliner Erik Karlsson and fired a wrist shot through Martin Jones with 3:46 to go in regulation.
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Just one minute and 18 seconds later, though, Chris Tierney found a deflected puck in the slot and knotted the score at 3-3.
Labanc was the only shooter to score in what was the Sharks’ second straight skills competition, beating Mike Condon in the fourth round.
The Sharks ended a five-game losing streak to the Senators.
The Sharks lost center Logan Couture in the third period, when the center was cross-checked in the back of the head by Ottawa’s Mike Hoffman.
San Jose Sharks
San Jose failed to convert on the ensuing five-minute power play, though, and finished 0-for-7, including about a one-minute advantage in overtime after a too-many-men penalty on Ottawa.
The teams traded goals through two periods.
Joe Pavelski was the recipient of a Couture backhand from the slot, smacking the puck into a wide open net at 5:57 of the first period just after a Sharks power play had expired.
The Senators answered just about a minute later, when Bobby Ryan got free between the circles, took a pass from behind the net by Ryan Dzingel, and whizzed it through Jones’ pads at 7:01.
San Jose reclaimed the lead, 2-1, at 11:30 of the second period on a great individual effort by Brent Burns. The defenseman skated around young blueliner Ben Harpur and made a move on Condon for his team-leading 13th of the season.
Again, though, Ottawa responded. The Sharks were caught scrambling around in their own end, and Mark Stone’s seam pass to Kyle Turris generated the tying score at 17:27.
There were some controversial hits in the game.
Late in the second, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Erik Karlsson were tied up in the corner, when Vlasic appeared to jam his stick into Karlsson’s midsection. That left the Norris Trophy winner doubled over in the corner, and at the next stoppage of play, Vlasic was jumped by Turris. The Ottawa forward received a fighting major, instigator and 10-minute misconduct at 19:20.
In the third, Hoffman earned a five-minute major for cross-checking Couture in the head. The Sharks appeared to take the lead on a Patrick Marleau power play goal with 8:11 to go, but replays showed that Pavelski didn’t keep the puck in the offensive zone at the blue line just prior to the score.
Vlasic returned to the blue line after missing Tuesday’s game in Toronto with a lower body injury.
Special teams
The Sharks are just 1-for-15 on the power play over the last four games. Ottawa was just 7-for-14 on the PK in its last three games before Wednesday.
San Jose killed off the first five Ottawa power plays before Phaneuf’s score.
In goal
Jones was starting both ends of a back-to-back for the second time this season. He made 29 saves on 32 shots, improving to 15-10-1.
Condon, who made 35 saves in Ottawa’s 4-2 win in San Jose on Dec. 7, allowed three goals on 29 shots.
Lineup
Joonas Donskoi was scratched for the first time this season, while Micheal Haley returned to the fourth line.
Ottawa forward Chris Neil was honored in a pregame ceremony for recently playing in his 1000th NHL game, all with the Senators.
Harpur was in the lineup for Mark Borowiecki, who was serving the second of a two-game suspension.
Up next
The Sharks will play the Canadiens for the second time this season on Friday, this time in Montreal. On Dec. 2 at SAP Center, San Jose claimed a 2-1 win over the top team in the Eastern Conference.
The road trip concludes on Sunday in Chicago.