3 takeaways from Senators' nail biting 4-3 win in San Jose against Sharks

The Ottawa Senators earned themselves a much needed 4-3 win on Monday night against the Calgary Flames to snap a five-game losing streak before heading off to California for three road games.

The first road game against the San Jose Sharks offered as a test for the Senators as they hadn't won in San Jose since March 2020 despite the Sharks being one of the worst teams in the NHL. It was a nail biting game, but the Senators found a way to prevail.

The Senators defeated the Sharks 4-3 at SAP Center to improve to 10-11-1 on the season. Starting off the California road trip with a big win in San Jose was much needed.

It wasn't the prettiest game, but a win is a win. The Senators improved their road record to 4-6-0 and earned their second consecutive win.

3. Welcome to the NHL in the exact same circumstance

On Monday night against the Flames, 2020 draft pick Cole Reinhardt scored his first NHL goal to extend the Senators lead to 3-1 in the second period. The same situation would happen for another 2020 draft pick on the Senators against the Sharks.

With the Senators holding a 2-1 lead in the second period, Tyler Kleven scored his first NHL goal to extend the Senators lead to 3-1. Claude Giroux recorded the lone assist on Kleven's goal.

Prior to scoring his first NHL goal, Kleven had just recorded four assists in 38 games. It was a special moment for the 22-year-old who has had the challenge of earning playing time since being drafted 44th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.

2. One line change has worked out phenomenal

When the Senators fell 4-3 to the Vancouver Canucks this past Saturday to lose their fifth consecutive game, line changes needed to be made. Travis Green decided to move up Adam Gaudette to the top line to play alongside Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk.

Against the Flames Monday night, Gaudette scored the first Senators goal to tie the game at one late in the first period. Against the Sharks, Gaudette scored the first Senators goal again.

The Senators didn't record a single shot on goal until 4:35 of the first period. Gaudette would tip in a pass from Tim Stutzle to give the Senators a 1-0 lead. Brady Tkachuk earned his 200th career assist on Gaudette's goal. However, the night got better for all three of them.

After the Sharks tied the game at three with 7:28 remaining in the third period, Gaudette scored the go-ahead goal to put the Senators up 4-3 with 4:12 remaining. Gaudette is now at 11 goals on the season, tied for the most on the Senators with Tkachuk. Gaudette needs two more goals to set a career-high in goals for a season.

Stutzle recorded three assists and Tkachuk had two assists. The top line of Gaudette, Stutzle and Tkachuk has worked out phenomenal since the change by Green.

1. What more can you ask for?

Concern around Linus Ullmark grew deeply after allowing in 17 goals in his past four starts. Ullmark got the start against the Sharks and delivered big time for the Senators.

Ullmark finished with a season-high 36 saves against the Sharks, but the game could've gone much different if Ullmark didn't stand tall. Throughout the entire game, the Sharks offense applied pressure, and Ullmark didn't get much help from the Senators offense to take pressure off of him.

After Kleven's goal to make it 3-1 at 15:22 of the second period, the Senators wouldn't record another shot on goal until 15:48 of the third period. That shot on goal was Gaudette's goal to put the Senators up 4-3. Gaudette's shot on goal was the only shot on goal the Senators had in the third period.

The Senators finished with 11 shots on goal in the game. Due to Ullmark's outstanding performance, the Senators' offense was able to have Ullmark back up their offensive struggles. The Senators can't keep relying on Ullmark to bail out the offense, but he did it in impressive fashion against the Sharks.

The Senators will continue their California road trip on Saturday night when they take on the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena. The Senators defeated the Kings 8-7 in Ottawa on Oct. 14 in overtime.