San Jose Sharks fall late as the Ottawa Senators score with 4.1 seconds left

The Ottawa Senators scored the winner late in the day, as the San Jose Sharks drop another one. It saves the boys in teal getting any closer to the Chicago Blackhawks sitting just ahead of them, but it is concerning that the results are going the way they are. It's been a very difficult stretch for this team, and it feels like this has been going on forever.

Ottawa took an early lead in this one. Claude Giroux got the puck back to Jake Sanderson at the point. He sent it across to Artem Zub and Zub loaded up on that big shot and fired it at the net. It was stopped but Giroux was able to put the puck home and get the early lead for the Senators. It was the worst possible strt for the road team, and they had to find a way to cut the Sens momentum.

A defensive breakdown allowed the Senators to keep a puck in that should have cleared the zone. The Sens were then able to move the puck around to get a clean look for Thomas Chabot, for his first goal in almost a year. It doubled the Sharks deficit, and it was looking like another game that was going to run away from the team in teal. It was not a great start, and despite the fightback from the Sharks in the past, it had been a long time since those games.

San Jose would get a goal back. A puck in deep ws chased back to the point by Alexander Barabanov. He got a pass over to Anthony Duclair, and the Duke fired home against his old team to cut the lead in half. Increasing his trade value, the Duke contributing yet again. He's been a very good member of the Sharks and proving to be a very smart pickup by general manager Mike Grier.

San Jose were able to force an odd man rush. A great save from Blackwood led to the Sharks forcing a turnover at the blueline. Tomas Hertl carrying the puck up the ice finds Duclair on the other side of the ice. He fakes a slapshot, and gives it to the defenseman joining the rush. Marc-Edouard Vlasic smacks it home, and this was a tie game in Ottawa.

It would only get better for the team in teal. Vlasic fired a great pass up the ice to Mike Hoffman. Hoffman dishes it over to Kevin Labanc for the zone entry. Labanc got it over to Mario Ferraro, and Ferraro would tee up the Bancer in the slot to give the Sharks the lead in this game. It was needed for the Sharks to get that confidence, and a lead.

That lead would last for all of 51 seconds. The Senators would get some attacking brilliance from their big guns. Drake Batherson would dance around four different Sharks defenders before setting up a one-time chance for the Sens captain. Brady Tkachuk blasts it home, and the team in teal once again finds themselves on level footing after the goal from Labanc. Blackwood didn't have a prayer on that one.

Ottawa would take the lead back in this one as Calen Addison's clearance into the neutral zone allows the Senators to regain possession. Tim Stutzle tees up Zub from the blue line, and the shot is saved. But Drake Batherson gathers the rebound and puts it into the net, and the Sharks trail again. In a period in which the Sharks played quite well, they are losing once again.

Late in the day,the Sharks are able to eep the puck in the zone. Ferraro knocks it down to Hertl, and giving the puck to the most dangerous player on the Sharks when trailing is a good idea. Hertl sets up Filip Zadina, and he blasts it home to tie the game up at four. With less than three minutes remaining in the game, that was a timely goal. Now, it was a a chance to get another once and win it in regulation riding the momentum of the Zadina tally.

Ottawa would score an absolute backbreaker with four seconds left in the game. Shot after shot was being fired at Mackenzie Blackwood, and he was able to hold the fort for the most part. Until a Jake Sanderson point shot was blasted at the net, and the rebound was potted home by Vladimir Tarasenko. 4.1 seconds left, and it was 5-4 Senators. It was reviewed by Toronto for goaltender interference, but the Sharks fall 4.1 seconds from the end of the game.

It turns out to be a regulation loss that ends in the most painful way possible. 4.1 seconds from the end of the game, the Sharks had a chance. Getting a point in overtime would have meant so much after enduring that 12 games losing stream, but that didn't happen and the Sharks are back in the losing column. It's 13 losses in 14 games, and it doesn't ease the pain of the season so far.