"The injuries have started to add up for the Sharks, and it showed Thursday night in a lackluster 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators at HP Pavilion.

Not that San Jose was hiding behind that excuse.

"Nobody feels sorry for the San Jose Sharks, and the last thing we can do is feel sorry for ourselves," coach Todd McLellan said.

But it was evident that making up for the loss of both Ryane Clowe and Marty Havlat will be a significant challenge.

"There's not too much chemistry right now, and it's a work in progress," captain Joe Thornton acknowledged, while McLellan referred to the status of his top two lines as "chemistry on the fly."

That situation could be even worse when the medical reports are in Friday morning, as rookie Tommy Wingels, filling in on the top line, left the game five minutes into the third period and did not return.

Not that the top two lines were the only problem as the Sharks faced the only team in the NHL with a better record over the previous 10 games than their own 7-1-2 mark; Ottawa was 8-1-1.

Still, the Sharks were able to jump out to an early 1-0 lead when Andrew Desjardins, playing his first game since that shoulder-to-head hit in Columbus on Saturday night, set up a goal by Brad Winchester."