The Ottawa Senators arrived in San Jose with reinforcements in tow, as Thomas Chabot returned from his upper-body injury sustained a week and a half ago. The opposing lineup featured a pair of familiar faces from last year’s Sens: Adam Gaudette and Zack Ostapchuk, called up from the Barracuda a week ago. Two minutes in, before I even had a chance to sit down, Macklin Celebrini fed Will Smith, who snuck in behind Claude Giroux to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead…until the Sens quickly challenged for offside. It was clear that Smith was clearly in the zone before the puck, and the goal was called back, giving the Sens a chance to get their feet under them. The two teams traded chances early in the first, with the Sharks tipping a puck off the crossbar and Ullmark looking shaky early on. Near the middle of the period, Jake Sanderson laid a big hit on Philipp Kurashev, who took exception and put Sanderson in a headlock, drawing a roughing penalty. The Sens make quick work of the strong Sharks PK (31/32 coming into the game!?), with some crisp passing, and Timmy was able to find Dylan Cozens in the slot for a tip-in goal. 1-0 Ottawa.
Passing on point 👏#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/IZjmKnyPo2
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) November 23, 2025
Late in the first period, Hayden Hodgson laid a dangerous hit on Mario Ferraro near the boards. It was a dangerous hit and a headshot; thankfully, Ferraro seemed ok and Hodgson was only assessed a two-minute minor for charging. Unfortunately for the Sens, John Klingberg’s point shot on the power play beat a screened Ullmark, tying the game up 1-1.
Klingberg goes top shelf to tie it 🎯 pic.twitter.com/fWX7nn2RYx
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) November 23, 2025
With less than two minutes to go in the first, Timmy took an uncharacteristic slashing penalty after being cleanly stripped of the puck by Ty Dellandrea, sending the Sharks to a power play that would carry over to the second period.
The Sens penalty killers were up to the task at the beginning of the second, and after that, Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund decided it was time to take over the game, with both players getting grade-A chances and several near misses. Hodsgon, hoping to redeem himself, drew a holding penalty on Timothy Liljegren. This Sens power play wasn’t nearly as momentum-building as their first one, quite the opposite in fact. As the penalty expired, the Sens turned the puck over, allowing the Sharks to break into the zone, and Barclay Goodrow, touching the Alexander Wennberg backhander with his skate, got credit for an ugly Sharks goal. 2-1 San Jose.
Wennberg taps in the rebound right out of the penalty kill 🤩 pic.twitter.com/6c9Ikrap0k
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) November 23, 2025
After the second Sharks goal, the Sens decided to stop messing around and took over the game in the back half of the second period. They were creating lots of turnovers in the Sharks’ end and getting dangerous chances off the rush. Hayden Hodgson was forced to fight Ryan Reaves, presumably for the Ferraro hit. With about a minute left in the second and after being snakebitten for so long, Fabian Zetterlund took the puck into the zone and ripped one bar down on Alex Nedeljkovic. 2-2.
You just love to see it 👏#GoSensGo | @FabianZetterlun pic.twitter.com/0FajVuVOC6
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) November 23, 2025
The Sharks took a penalty with 13 seconds left in the second, giving the Senators a fresh sheet of ice and almost two minutes of power play time to start the third period. The Sens’ power play, apart from the first opportunity, had a lot of trouble getting set up in the offensive zone, and the Sharks were able to effectively kill off the penalty to start the third. Michael Amadio was charged with a ridiculous interference penalty on Collin Graf after the latter gripped his stick as limply as humanly possible, leading to Amadio launching Graf’s stick 15 feet in the air. Then, while still on the power play, the Sharks took a too-many-men bench minor in the offensive zone. Two things I don’t recall ever seeing in my 23 years of understanding hockey. With just under seven minutes to go in the game, Jake Sanderson made an incredible first pass to find Drake Batherson and Nick Cousins driving the net. Batherson handed the puck off the Cousins, who almost beat Nedeljkovic on the deke, leaving the puck literally on the goal line; thankfully, Timmy was nearby to poke in the loose puck. 3-2 Ottawa.
Scuse me coming through!#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/bjmpDERhLy
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) November 23, 2025
After going ahead 3-2, the Senators played an aggressive forechecking style to close out the game. Apart from a couple of instances, the Sharks did not seem like a threat to score, and Ullmark did not spend the last few minutes under siege as we’ve seen when the team turtles on a lead late in games. The Sens, led by Claude Giroux, won some key faceoffs, and Ullmark made the saves he needed to for the team to wrap this one up with a pretty bow. 3-2 Ottawa FINAL.
Game NotesThe Sharks are definitely not the doormat they used to be. You can see all of the young talent they have and how much potential they have. We saw their flaws on full display tonight, but this will probably be a scary team going forward.Dylan Cozens was all over the ice tonight, creating turnovers, getting shots to the net, scoring the opening goal, drawing penalties, and generally looking like both a defensive stalwart and a threat to score. Hopefully, he can keep up the excellent work.It was good for Fabian Zetterlund to get off the schneid, scoring his second goal of the season with an absolute laser of a shot. Since he arrived in Ottawa at the trade deadline last season, he’s always put in a strong effort but has seldom been rewarded for it. It’s good to see him get one, and hopefully, he can go on a bit of a tear on this road trip.Thomas Chabot looked alright in his first game back. There was a bit of a scare when he appeared to aggravate something, attempting a shot on the power play near the end of the game. Hopefully it’s nothing serious, but we’ll likely find out tomorrow.Game Flow
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