Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) makes a save on San Jose Sharks centre Steven Lorentz (16) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)
Tomas Hertl scored twice but the Sharks allowed three power-play goals and an even-strength goal to Claude Giroux after a bad giveaway in a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.
The Sharks had to kill five penalties and allowed power-play goals to Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, and Thomas Chabot as San Jose lost for the fifth time in six games.
It marked the first time this season that the Sharks had allowed multiple power-play goals in one game. San Jose entered Saturday with the NHL’s top-ranked penalty kill at 91.6 percent.
Down 4-2 in the third period, the Sharks couldn’t capitalize on what was at first a 4-on-3 power play that turned into a 5-on-4 man advantage. At the end of the power play, Hertl was upended by Senators forward Tyler Motte, and Claude Giroux scored on a breakaway for a 5-2 Ottawa lead.
The Sharks are now 1-2-0 on a four-game road trip that ends Sunday in Buffalo.
Hertl’s goals both came in the first period, with his second goal, on the power play, giving the Sharks a 2-1 lead at the 11:03 mark.
But the Senators tied the game 5:22 into the second period as a Matt Benning turnover led to a Claude Giroux goal. Ottawa then took the lead for good on Stützle’s goal at the 16:40 mark as Radim Simek served a holding penalty.
Benning was being checked from behind the Sharks when his pass from behind the Sharks’ goal line that was intended for Hertl instead went straight to Giroux, who beat Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen for his 10th goal of the season.
Kahkonen, making his sixth start in the eight Sharks games, finished with 34 saves.
The Sharks were coming off a 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, as a Hertl giveaway with the game tied in the final minutes led to a go-ahead goal from Pierre Engvall. After the game, Hertl blamed himself for the loss.
“A player’s (game) isn’t always broken down to one play,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “As he talked about it, he felt awful about it. He’d love to have it back and, to me, how people react to their mistakes is a big part of growing. So, I’m anticipating a big, big game from tonight.”
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka