Karlsson, Sharks lose to Senators in defenseman's return to Ottawa

OTTAWA-- Erik Karlsson did not have a point when the San Jose Sharks lost to the Ottawa Senators 6-2 at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

It was the defenseman's first game in Ottawa since he was traded Sept. 13 after playing nine seasons for the Senators.
"I think that I did a good job, myself, in trying to stay focused on the game," Karlsson said. "And at the same time, trying to experience the good stuff that happened here. … It was nice to play in front of these fans again."
\[WATCH: All Sharks vs. Senators highlights\]
Mikkel Boedker, who played for San Jose the prior two seasons, had a goal and three assists for the Senators (12-12-3), who have won three straight games.
"We've done a really good job of playing strong in the [defensive] zone and not forgetting our offensive capabilities," Boedker, a forward, said. "We have a lot of high-end talent in here and we use that."
Joe Thornton and Barclay Goodrow scored, and Martin Jones made 21 saves for the Sharks (12-10-5), who lost their fourth straight game and sixth straight on the road.

"We're struggling right now," Karlsson said. "You're going to go through periods of this throughout the year. We're going through it right now and we're going to have to sort a lot of things out."
Karlsson played 24:55 and had nine shots on goal.
"I think we're disappointed for Erik," Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. "I think we're disappointed for ourselves. This was a big game for us. We wanted to bounce back after losing [at the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 Wednesday], and the game ran away from us."
Anderson made 27 saves in a 3-0 win against the New York Rangers on Thursday.
"We've seen ourselves grow in the last two games," Anderson said. "The last game against the Rangers, we were outstanding for 60, and tonight again, outstanding for 60 minutes. We're starting to string some momentum together, and playing in the right direction, playing the right way, and I think our guys are getting rewarded too, we scored [six] goals."
Ryan Dzingel gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 7:30 of the second period. Ben Harpur scored his first NHL goal to make it 2-1 at 12:56, and Boedker scored on a breakaway to make it 3-1 49 seconds later.

"It took me a while," said Harpur, a defenseman who played his 60th NHL game. "It was kind of in the back of my mind. I'm not looking to score goals, by any means, that's not really part of my game, but to get that first one will be a relief, for sure."
Thornton one-timed a cross-crease pass from Pavelski into an open net on the power play to tie it 1-1 at 9:49.
Mark Stone scored on a 4-on-1 to make it 4-1 at 4:03 of the third period. Magnus Paajarvi scored an empty-net goal at 14:52 for a 5-1 lead. Goodrow tipped a point shot from Brenden Dillon to cut it to 5-2 at 18:00. Ryan deflected a Cody Ceci slap shot to make it 6-2 with 59 seconds left.
"If you allow five, score six," Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. "If you [allow] six, score seven. If you get an opportunity on the power play, bury on the power play to get back into the game, and that's not what's happening right now."

Senators forward Chris Tierney and defenseman Dylan DeMelo were part of the Karlsson trade. Tierney had an assist playing 13:53, and DeMelo played 22:58. Boedker was part of an offseason trade for forward Mike Hoffman.
"All three of those guys were great teammates when they were in San Jose," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. "It looks like they're all off to pretty good starts here, so we're happy for them, definitely. It's always a little awkward playing them the first time."

They said it

"It's been tough to stop it right now. We're finding ways to lose. It's just a breakdown here or there, and then something happens. We've been trailing in a lot of these games, so we'll get back to finding ways to start the game off with a goal and get the lead and try to build on that." -- Sharks captain Joe Pavelski
"It was fun playing against [Karlsson], fun battling against him. When the puck was on his stick, you never knew what he was going to do with it, whether it was a quick shot, pass through the crease or pass through the seam or whatnot. Shifty player. It was great to be back out there on the ice with him." -- Senators goalie Craig Anderson

Need to know

Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot got his 30th point (six goals, 24 assists) in his 27th game. The only Ottawa defensemen to reach 30 points in fewer games are Wade Redden (24 games in 2005-06) and Karlsson (26 games in 2015-16). ... In the Karlsson trade, the Senators also received forward prospect Francis Perron and also sent forwards Rudolfs Balcers and Joshua Norris, a conditional first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft or 2020 NHL Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2019 draft to the Sharks.

What's next

Sharks: At the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; SN, SN1, RDS, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)
Senators: At the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, TSN5, NHL.TV)