Vladimir Tarasenko gave the Ottawa Senators an improbable 5-4 win Saturday night in the Canadian capital after his 10th goal of the season gave the Sens the lead with 5 seconds left in regulation.
Ottawa originally opened the scoring from Claude Giroux (13) at the 4:12 mark and then doubled their lead after a goal from Thomas Chabot (1) just shy of the halfway mark of the 1st period. The Sharks would respond by pulling one back, however, thanks to Anthony Duclair (8) at 12:35, but still leaving the Sens with the 2-1 lead heading to the 2nd period. That's where San Jose took their only lead of the contest, after goals from Marc-Edouard Vlasic (1) at 3:53 and Kevin Labanc (2) at 6:20, grabbing a 3-2 lead before Ottawa tied it at 3 apiece via Brady Tkachuk (18) at 7:11. The Sens retook the lead at 4-3 before the end of the period via another goal from Drake Batherson (15) at 12:59.
The 3rd period only had 1 goal by either side, but they both came dramatically late. At first, San Jose tied things up again, at 4 apiece by Filip Zadina (5) at 16:56 if you're still following, and then Tarasenko caught a deflected Ottawa shot, putting it past Sharks goalie Mackenzie Blackwood for the incredible game-winner in regulation at 19:55 of the 3rd period. Yes, he really did that with 5 SECONDS LEFT. Crazy.
Ottawa improves to 15-23-0, yet remains last in the Atlantic Division with a 4-6-0 last 10 record. They play next at home against Colorado on January 16th at 7 pm. San Jose drops to 10-30-0 and remains last in the Pacific Division with a 1-9-0 last 10 record. So, yes, this was a grudge match. They play next at Buffalo tomorrow at 12 pm for a mid-day matinee game.
Team Stats:
Shots: SJ 18, OTT 41
Hits: SJ 30, OTT 23
Faceoff Wins: SJ 23, OTT 31
PIM: SJ 4, OTT 4
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