OTTAWA -- After making strides of improvement with their defensive game over the first two months of the season, the Ottawa Senators are starting to stumble.
They have allowed nine goals in their last two games, both losses, and 19 in their last four, a span that includes a single victory which happened to come against the opponent they will meet next.
Desperate to stop the slide, coach Guy Boucher was screaming and slamming his stick on the ice during the last practice before Wednesday's visit by the San Jose Sharks. He was unhappy with the way the players were doing drills, and still seething over their compete level in Sunday's 5-1 loss in Anaheim
"It was just a no-show," Boucher said of the last stop on a four-game road trip. "That's unacceptable for us. We want to hold high standards. We have all year long and that's why we were having success. That can't slip away. We need our identity back. That's hard, tight defense and a much better shooting mentality on the other side."
Now one game into their own four stop road swing, the Sharks overcame a 2-0 in the second half of the third period deficit for a 3-2 shootout victory Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
Justin Braun and Joe Pavelski scored 2:07 apart to tie the game and Logan Couture won it in the shootout.
"It was a fight tonight, to find our game, to find our legs. It didn't look good and we found a way," said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. "It was a testament to our group because it definitely wasn't an 'A' effort by our group. You've got to win kind of in different ways in this league."
The Sharks will be out to avenge a 4-2 loss against Ottawa in San Jose last Wednesday, a game which they rallied from a 2-0 deficit before a break down allowed Ottawa veteran Chris Kelly to score the winner with 66 seconds left in the third.
The Sharks outshot the Senators 37-17 but were stymied by goalie Mike Condon. Since that night, Condon has allowed seven goals in four periods and was pulled 20 minutes into the loss to the Ducks.
"In my eyes that's so far in my rearview I don't really think about it anymore," Condon said Tuesday. "I already went over the film, I already digested what I need to from it. With the condensed schedule, you've got another game coming up, so we're on to San Jose."
With defenseman Mark Borowiecki serving the second of a two-game suspension, the Senators have recalled Ben Harpur, a 6-foot-6 blue liner who will be playing in his sixth NHL game.
Prior to the opening face-off, Senators veteran Chris Neil will be honored in a ceremony to recognize his 1000th game, which he played in Los Angeles on Saturday.
