Tim Stützle, Senators Rout Sharks 5-1 for 9th October Win

Tim Stützle snapped a wrist shot past Alex Nedeljkovic midway through the second period, and the Ottawa Senators pulled away from there. Stützle and Dylan Cozens each had a goal and an assist as Ottawa beat the San Jose Sharks 5-1 on Saturday afternoon at SAP Center, per the AP recap.

That win snapped a two-game skid and gave the Senators their ninth victory of October, tying the franchise record for the month set in 2007-08. Ottawa improves to 9-5-1 after dropping the first two games of this five-game road trip. San Jose falls to 7-7-1 with its third loss in four games.

Stützle Caps a Huge October

Stützle finished the month with nine goals and 12 assists. Those 21 points extend his franchise record for points in October, and he ended up one goal shy of Bob Kudelski's team October goals record from 1993.

He was in the middle of both big moments here. His feed set up Cozens for the opening goal at 13:25 of the first period, and his own goal at 10:54 of the second came during a three-goal period that broke open a 1-1 game.

Ottawa's Second Period Ended It

Michael Misa tied it for San Jose at 16:06 of the first with his third goal of the season. After that, it was all Ottawa. Drake Batherson put the Senators back ahead at 5:04 of the second, then Stützle and Ridly Greig scored 1:23 apart to make it 4-1. Shane Pinto added a late goal in the third, and the Sharks never got a real push going after the second intermission.

• Batherson extended his point streak to seven games with his ninth goal.

• Cozens has scored three times in two games after his two goals in Thursday's 6-5 overtime loss in Los Angeles.

• Samuel Ersson made 21 saves for his first win of the season after starting 0-3-1, with Linus Ullmark still out injured.

Nedeljkovic made 30 saves for the Sharks, who split the season series after winning 6-2 in Ottawa on Oct. 22.

Ducks Next, on No Rest

The trip continues Sunday night in Anaheim, so Ottawa turns around on a back-to-back. The Sharks host the Calgary Flames on Monday night.

My Smacktok lean: lean higher on Stützle's points in Anaheim. He is the engine of this offense, with 21 points in October, and he is involved on almost every big Ottawa goal right now.