Recap: Allen, Blues Shutout Senators in Blowout

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The Ottawa Senators were dismantled by the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. The Blues put six goals past Andrew Hammond, who was making just his third start of the season. Hammond has been recovering from a high ankle sprain sustained in December. Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 25th goal and Jake Allen recorded his third shutout of the season.

First Period

The Blues began the period with an extra skip in their skates, with two solid chances in the game’s first minutes. Hammond stood tall to turn them away. Hammond was given little time to get into his groove, as the Blues put on early pressure.

Allen made a big save on Kyle Turris halfway through the period. The Senators entered the zone with speed but Turris couldn’t put it past Allen’s glove.

Each team had two minor penalties and a power play. Zach Smith and David Perron had a scuffle behind the play that resulted in offsetting minors. JG Pageau received a delay-of-game penalty that the Senators handled comfortably. Ottawa’s penalty kill has been hot, this being their 15th consecutive kill. Alexander Steen was whistled for interference with 1:23 left in the period. The Senators had a few good chances but couldn’t put one away before the intermission.

The Blues were the better team in the first period, but the Senators pushed back toward the end, leading into their power play. St. Louis outshot Ottawa 13-5.

Second Period

The Blues successfully killed the remaining 37 seconds of power play time. Soon after, Magnus Paajarvi opened the scoring. He sped past Smith and scored through Hammond’s five-hole.

Marc Methot took a hooking penalty just under five minutes into the period. Although the Blues could not convert on the power play, the pressure resulted in a goal seconds later. As Methot returned to the ice and the Senators adjusted, Tarasenko was able to find himself alone in front of the net. Paul Stastny fed him a nice pass and Tarasenko finished.

Less than a minute later, Ivan Barbashev got whistled for hooking Mark Borowiecki. The Senators did everything but score on their power play, spending nearly the entire two minutes in the Blues’ zone. They had six shots on net but couldn’t get one past Allen.

After scoring twice in the first seven minutes, the Blues only had one shot in the last 13 minutes of the frame. The Senators applied pressure but could not break through, outshooting the Blues 11-7.

Third Period

Things went from bad to worse for the Senators in the third. Chris Wideman went to the box for tripping, and Patrik Berglund put away a Kenny Agostino rebound during the power play. Agostino now has a goal and an assist in his first two games this season after scoring against Philadelphia Monday night.

Just past midway through the period, Stastny picked up an errant Mike Hoffman pass and fed Steen, who was all alone in front of the net. He made no mistake to make it 4-0 Blues with less than 10 minutes left.

Tarasenko made it five for the Blues and 25 on the season for himself with a perfect shot from the slot.

Ivan Barbashev made it a touchdown of goals for the Blues with his first career NHL goal. Erik Karlsson passed the puck in front of the net, where Barbashev intercepted and scored to make it 6-0.

Ottawa outshot the Blues 14-10 in the third period. The teams finished tied with 30 shots each.

The Senators’ poor defensive play and giveaways led to them being shut out for the second straight game. They have now been outscored 10-0 over their last two games.

Mirroring the Sens are the Blues, who have now won two straight games in shutout fashion. What’s more impressive is that the shutouts came back-to-back with different goalies.

Scoring Summary

First Period

No scoring

Second Period

STL – Magnus Paajarvi (2) assisted by Kevin Shattenkirk (26)

STL – Vladimir Tarasenko (24) assisted by Paul Stastny (19) & David Perron (18)

Third Period

STL – Patrik Berglund (13) assisted by Kenny Agostino (1) & David Perron (19)

STL – Alexander Steen (11) assisted by Paul Stastny (20)

STL – Vladimir Tarasenko 2 (25) assisted by Alexander Steen (26) & Colton Parayko (23)

STL – Ivan Barbashev (1) unassisted

THW Three Stars

First Star: Jake Allen (30-save shutout)

Second Star: Vladimir Tarasenko (2 goals)

Third Star: Alexander Steen (goal, assist)

Up Next

St. Louis Blues @ Toronto Maple Leafs

Air Canada Centre – 7:30 p.m on Thursday, Feb. 9

Broadcast channels: SNO, FS-MW

Ottawa Senators vs. Dallas Stars

Canadian Tire Centre – 7:30 p.m on Thursday, Feb. 9

Broadcast channels: RDS2, TSN5, FS-SW+