Sharks 6, Senators 2: Askarov, Two Short-Handed, First Regulation Win

October 22, 2026 - Ottawa - Ottawa had the extra attacker on a delayed penalty, and Tim Stützle still found the five-hole. Canadian Tire Centre was 1-0. Then Yaroslav Askarov spent the rest of the night under siege, and San Jose left with the regulation win it had been looking for.

The San Jose Sharks beat the Ottawa Senators 6-2. San Jose is 6-4-1. The Associated Press recap called it the Sharks' first regulation victory of the season. Ottawa is 7-4-0 after a 5-1 win over Florida on Wednesday, two losses in three. Shots were 43-28 Ottawa. Attendance was 15,469, per ESPN. Nolan Allan, Zack Ostapchuk, Ty Dellandrea, Sam Dickinson, Dmitry Orlov, Barclay Goodrow, Stephen Halliday, and Nikolas Matinpalo are not seeded on AthX player pages, so those names stay unlinked.

Collin Graf had a goal and an assist. Jacob Trouba had a goal and an assist. Kiefer Sherwood had two assists. Tyler Toffoli scored on the power play. Ivar Stenberg hit the empty net. Askarov stopped 41 of 43. The NHL recap is 41. The Associated Press recap had 39. The gamecenter file is 41, and that is the line we scored. Stützle and Jordan Spence scored. Samuel Ersson stopped 22 of 26 in 56:06. Linus Ullmark went on injured reserve Thursday after the lower-body strain on Wednesday.

Stützle first, the post, then Allan

Stützle made it 1-0 at 6:16. Extra attacker. Drake Batherson across. Wrist five-hole. Warren Foegele the other assist. Foegele is unlinked.

Carter Yakemchuk appeared to make it 2-0 at 11:26. Video review said post and crossbar, never over the line, the NHL recap said.

Allan tied it at 11:04. Over the glove, top-right corner, Orlov the assist. 1-1.

Four minutes that flipped the building

Toffoli put San Jose up 2-1 at 9:13 of the second, a long wrist through traffic on the power play. Sherwood and Trouba on the play.

Graf made it 3-1 at 12:00, short-handed on the NHL landing. He stripped Halliday, dropped it to Dellandrea, and dove onto the return pass into an open net. "I think it was, you know, a bit of a bobbled puck, and for us that means go," Graf told NHL.com. The box `shorthandedGoals` row is empty. The landing strength is `sh`. That is the bonus we scored.

Trouba made it 4-1 at 13:18. Graf drew three Senators into the left corner and found him alone in front. Darnell Nurse the other assist. Power play, short-handed, even strength, 4:05, 4-1.

Askarov made 18 saves in the second. The NHL recap highlighted a diving glove on Batherson at 18:04. "That was a super-quick play," Askarov told NHL.com. "I know I was late, and I was like, 'Just dive to the right side.'" Dellandrea, to NHL.com: "Unbelievable, unbelievable. I had an up-close view."

Ryan Warsofsky told NHL.com the goaltender was great and the Sharks were under siege for most of the night. Graf, on the regulation win: "There's been some comments from people, you know, looking for regulation wins, so it's nice to finally get that."

Spence, then two empty nets

Spence cut it to 4-2 at 6:24 of the third. Fabian Zetterlund saucered it. Wrist from between the circles. Zetterlund put nine shots on Askarov. "We did everything we had," he told NHL.com. "Some nights it's not going the right way, and tonight was one of them."

Ottawa pulled Ersson on a power play with under four minutes left, the Associated Press recap said. Ostapchuk scored short-handed into the empty net at 16:31, Goodrow the assist. Landing strength `sh`. Box row empty. Same bonus as Graf. Stenberg added the other empty-netter at 19:43 from Sherwood and Michael Misa. 6-2.

It was the first time San Jose had two short-handed goals since Dec. 7, 2023, the notes said. Igor Chernyshov left at 16:11 of the first after a Matinpalo slap shot off the left arm. Warsofsky said he will be evaluated Friday. Jonas Johansson was recalled from Belleville and dressed as Ersson's backup. Travis Green told NHL.com Ottawa shot itself in the foot. "It's just one of those games, we found a way to lose it."

AthX Engine on 41 saves and two short-handed tags

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Graf at 10.30 (a goal, an assist, three shots, two blocks, plus the landing short-handed bonus). Zetterlund is 8.40. Trouba is 8.10. Sherwood is 7.80. Stützle is 7.50. Allan is 6.80. Ostapchuk is 6.70 with the same bonus. Spence is 6.40. Toffoli is 5.10 with the power-play bonus. Askarov's win, 41 saves, and two goals against land at 17.00, tied for the night's top goalie line. Ersson is 4.00.

San Jose's team line is 23.20. Ottawa's 2-6 floors at 0.00.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for Askarov after 0-4-0 in his previous four starts, and for a Senators club that just put Ullmark on IR. They are not the same number.

Track Askarov, Graf, Stützle, and both clubs on the marketplace. San Jose visits Boston on Saturday. The Rangers visit Ottawa that night.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, NHL.com scoreboard, ESPN NHL scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020156, with short-handed bonuses from landing strength on Graf and Ostapchuk. Information only; not financial advice.*