Paul, Tkachuk lift Senators past Sharks

OTTAWA -- Nicholas Paul had two goals and an assist for the Ottawa Senators in a 5-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday.

It was Paul's first multipoint game in the NHL.
"It's what I've been working for. It's what I've been doing all summer," Paul said. "It's what I've been picturing. It's nice to finally go that way and get some confidence.
WATCH: [All Sharks vs. Senators Highlights]
"If we play like we did tonight, we have a good chance of winning every night. We played hard, we won all our battles, we were structured, we were hard to play against, and teams don't like that."
Brady Tkachuk had a goal and two assists, Connor Brown had a goal and an assist, and Craig Anderson made 34 saves for the Senators (3-7-1), who won for the second time in seven games.

"Now we know what I believe 60 minutes looks like for our hockey team, and that's what we've got to do if we want to continue to win games," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said.
Evander Kane and Kevin Labanc scored, and Brent Burns had two assists for the Sharks (4-7-1), who have lost four of their past five games. Aaron Dell allowed four goals on 22 shots before being replaced at the start of the third period by Martin Jones, who made seven saves.
"We're 12 games in and there's a handful of key guys for us that haven't played well yet," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. "So that's on me to get them back to the level they need to be at.
"We're playing from behind in a lot of these games, and instead of sticking with it and trusting the group and the system, everyone wants to step out and fix it themselves, but it doesn't work that way. So eventually you have to learn that lesson."

Brown scored on a one-timer off a bouncing puck in the slot to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 6:34 of the first period, but Kane redirected a slap pass from Burns on the power play to tie it 1-1 at 9:30.
Paul scored his first goal of the season with a wrist shot from the top of the right face-off circle to make it 2-1 at 15:27.
Paul's second of the game came on a backhand at the top of the crease following a cross-ice pass from Brown to extend the lead to 3-1 at 10:59 of the second period.

"The best part about it is he's the best conditioned guy. In training camp, he won the award," Smith said of Paul. "He doesn't get tired. He works in practice, he's been humbled, he's been through waivers a bunch of times, and it's hard not to pull for a guy like that that is doing everything he can to stay in the League."
Labanc scored on a breakaway off a stretch pass from Burns at 13:14 to cut it to 3-2.
Tkachuk scored on a rebound in front to make it 4-2 with 51 seconds remaining in the second.
Anthony Duclair skated around Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon before tucking the puck past Jones' right pad to make it 5-2 at 16:36 of the third.
"We gave up too many odd-man [rushes] again," San Jose captain Logan Couture said. "I don't think we spent long enough shifts in their end. We had some shots, but we didn't get enough traffic around their goaltender and second opportunities that were there, we just weren't in the right spots."

They said it

"I thought we created some good looks. We didn't finish around the net like we're capable of. I mean, that's also been a story this season: we're not finishing. I can't be sitting at one goal right now. [Tomas Hertl's] at three, [Timo Meier's] at two. We've got to score some more goals." -- Sharks captain Logan Couture
"I think my biggest asset, when I was in the [American Hockey League], was skating with the puck. I've been getting a little more confident to do that here instead of just making a quick play. Using my feet, using my legs, and just skating with the puck and creating space has been helping me a lot." -- Senators forward Nicholas Paul
"He was saying that he's going to go to the Red Lobster every night from now on. He went there last night and I don't want to say it, but he had a tough stomach this afternoon. But I think he's got to do it every night before a game now." -- Senators forward Brady Tkachuk on Paul

Need to know

San Jose went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill to improve its success rate to 93.2 percent, the best in the NHL. … Sharks defensemen Erik Karlsson was minus-4. … Paul was plus-4. … Duclair has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past three games.

What's next

Sharks:At the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NESN, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)
Senators: At the Boston Bruins on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN360, TVAS, NESN, NHL.TV)