The San Jose Sharks finally are in position to win back-to-back games for the first time since early December when they visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
The Sharks snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. It was San Jose’s first win since a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 12.
“I feel relieved to get the win, and it was a pretty good performance from us,” said Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro. “Obviously, some things we could still do better, but it’s a little bit of weight off our shoulders for sure. It feels good.”
San Jose, 4-17-1 on the road, last won back-to-back games when picking up consecutive overtime victories against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 5 and 7. The Sharks are in last place in the Western Conference.
“It’s been a tough go here, a lot of good players in there and a lot of character guys that have fought through a lot of adversity,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “It’s not easy to move past some of the things we’ve been through, but we did it (Thursday) and got a huge win for ourselves.”
Tomas Hertl has paced all Sharks scorers with 13 goals and 29 points in 41 games. Mikael Granlund has three assists and four points in the last five games while Fabian Zetterlund has two goals and an assist in the past five games.
San Jose goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, who picked up his first road win of the season on Thursday, is 5-16-2 with a 3.79 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage in 27 games (24 starts).
The Senators will look to follow the Sharks and end their losing skid on Saturday after dropping five straight games. The Senators are 3-12-0 since Dec. 12 and are 10-10-0 at home this season.
Ottawa fell 5-3 to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday and has not won since Dec. 31. Ottawa is last in the Eastern Conference.
“I’m seeing some positive signs when I look at the last three games,” Senators interim coach Jacques Martin said. “I told the team after (Thursday’s) game that we’ve done some good things. I think we’re building each game. I feel like we’ve beaten ourselves the last three games. We’ve had lapses where other teams have taken advantage.
“I feel that we’re getting better, but it’s something that we’ve just got to work at it on a daily basis.”
Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who has a 7-15-0 record and a 3.69 goals-against average to go along with an .887 save percentage, came away with a right groin injury in Thursday’s loss.
Claude Giroux has three goals and five points in his last five games, while Ridly Greig has three assists in the past two games.
Giroux and Tim Stutzle lead the team with 34 points apiece, and Brady Tkachuk has a team-leading 17 goals in 37 games.
Senators forward Shane Pinto, suspended 41 games for violating the league’s gambling rules, returned to practice on Friday. Pinto, a restricted free agent, can return to the Ottawa lineup on Jan. 21 when the Senators visit the Philadelphia Flyers.
Saturday is the first of two meetings between the clubs. Ottawa visits San Jose on March 9.
–Field Level Media