Meier scores three points for Sharks in victory against Senators

SAN JOSE --Timo Meier had a goal and two assists for the San Jose Sharks in a 6-3 win against the Ottawa Senators at SAP Center on Wednesday.

Meier put the Sharks ahead 4-3 at 11:18 of the third period with a wrist shot off a backhand pass from below the goal line by Rudolfs Balcers.
"[Balcers] made a great pass to me as I was coming into the slot," Meier said. "I just had the defenseman flat-footed there and got off a pretty good shot there."
Logan Couture scored an empty-net goal at 18:56 to make it 5-3, and Jake Middleton scored into an empty net for his first NHL goal and a 6-3 lead at 19:28.
Nick Bonino and Matt Nieto each scored his first goal of the season, Erik Karlsson had two assists, and James Reimer made 26 saves for the Sharks (10-8-1).
"[Reimer's] a hardworking guy," Meier said. "We love playing in front of him. He gives us a lot of confidence. He made huge saves tonight again."
San Jose coach Bob Boughner said, "You could just see how happy and excited the guys were for each other. That goes a long way. It starts with competing, sticking up for each other, and acting like a family."

Brady Tkachuk had a goal and an assist, Thomas Chabot had two assists, and Matt Murray made 23 saves for the Senators (4-12-1), who are 1-8-1 in their past 10 games.
"I thought we played a good road game, to be honest with you," Ottawa forward Josh Norris said. "I thought we controlled the play at times and had the puck a lot in their zone, and I thought we moved it around pretty good. You've got to give them credit too. They played a good game."
Senators coach D.J. Smith said, "We deserved better. A point, or two. The difference tonight is probably their goaltending."
Nieto gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 7:16 of the first period after Kevin Labanc set him up on the rush.
Norris tied it 1-1 at 13:38 after he collected a rebound and backhanded the puck over Reimer's stick.
Tomas Hertl put San Jose ahead 2-1 at 47 seconds of the second period with a slap shot from a sharp angle after Meier set him up along the boards.
Tkachuk tied it 2-2 at 14:38 with a 4-on-4 goal before Connor Brown put the Senators ahead 3-2 at 16:11.
"We just wanted to keep rolling but we made a couple of mistakes tonight," Tkachuk said.

Bonino, playing his 700th NHL game, tied it 3-3 on a power play at 19:29 after he finished a tic-tac-toe play set up by Couture.
"That was one of the happiest goal piles I've been in," Bonino said. "The guys were pretty happy for me so I felt like I could exhale finally."
Meier said, "It was probably more exciting than when I scored myself. I think, for him, he's gotten some unlucky bounces in the games before, so for him to get that first one, it's a big relief and guys are really excited for him too."
NOTES:Bonino is the fifth Sharks player to score in his 700th NHL game, joining Stephane Matteau, Teemu Selanne, Karlsson and Evander Kane... Middleton is the fourth Sharks player to score his first NHL goal into an empty net, joining Ville Peltonen, Jay Leach and Evgeni Nabokov. ... San Jose defenseman Brent Burns became the 34th defenseman in NHL history to play in 600 regular-season wins, fifth most among active defensemen. Teammate Marc-Edouard Vlasic ranks fourth with 617. ... Senators defenseman Nikita Zaitsev was plus-1 with two shots in 15:17 after missing four games in NHL COVID-19 protocol.