Blues outlast Senators in shootout

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[March 02, 2016]  OTTAWA -- After giving up two late goals in the third period, Jake Allen simply refused to blink.

The Blues goalie stopped all four shots he faced in overtime and then everything that came his way in an 11-round shootout that was ultimately decided by center Patrik Burglund as St. Louis defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-3 at Canadian Tire Centre Tuesday.

The win allowed the Blues to remain tied with Chicago and Dallas atop the Central Division standings, although both teams have games in hand on St. Louis.

"Sometimes you go in these shootouts and you get seven or eight goals on 11 shots," Allen said after posting his 20th win of the season. "This one, there's no goals on either side. It's just the way she goes."

The end result spoiled a dramatic comeback by the Senators, who forced overtime with a pair of goals by Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The first was scored with 2:41 left in the third, while the equalizer needed a replay review to make sure it beat the game ending buzzer.

Earlier this season, Pageau scored what would have been a game-tying goal just after the horn sounded.

"The guys said it was in again, but it was for real," said Pageau. "It was a good feeling. Unfortunately, we didn't get out with the two points."

The Senators, who are five points back of the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, did experience a sense of deja vu when backup goalie Andrew Hammond replaced starter Craig Anderson after the latter suffered a lower-body injury with 6:19 left in the second period. Anderson played well, making 29 saves on 31 shots, but Hammond was better. He stopped all 17 shots he faced in more than 31 minutes through overtime, then 10 more in the shootout before Berglund snuck one by him to the top part of the net.

As a rookie last year, Hammond spearheaded a Senators late run to a playoff spot with a Cinderella-like 20-1-2 record, but so far this season, he has struggled through injuries and a 3-6-3 mark.

"I don't know what Craig's status is, but I've been preparing for more or less the whole season to be ready if my name gets called," said Hammond, affectionally known as The Hamburglar. "Whether that's off the bench or for a start, you've got to be ready. It comes with the job, More or less, it's about being prepared."

Senators coach Dave Cameron refused to give an update on Anderson's health, saying only that he "tweaked something."

"I tell them (trainers) I don't want any medical updates until after I talk to you guys," said Cameron, who commended Hammond's performance. "That's what you need. Tough spot to come in, against a real good club. A club that had us back on our heels. Not just made 17 saves but made some real solid Grade A saves and it was good to see it.

"Hammy comes in every day, his teammates love him. It's good to see him get a huge performance tonight."

Led by a goal and two assists from winger Jaden Schwartz and singles by wingers Dmitrij Jaskin and Vladimir Tarasenko, the Blues had a 3-0 lead just past the midway mark of the second period.

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But Senators winger Ryan Dzingel gave Ottawa some momentum with his second NHL goal just before the intermission.

"That's not ideal, giving up a two-goal lead there, but they had a good push," said Schwartz. "A goal with less than a second left, those are always tough to give up. Jake was awesome. If it wasn't for him, especially late, we probably wouldn't have got the two points."

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock was not pleased with the way his team let up.

"We got sucked into the track meet and that's the second or third time we've done that in the last couple of weeks," he said. "What can I say?

"The goaltending was outstanding. We're more disappointed that we didn't get the game shut down. We had the opportunity to really get it shut down. We gave up too many scoring chances in the third period. We traded scoring chances with them and that's exactly what they wanted to do. They ended up scoring late because of it."

Meanwhile, the Senators are getting used to digging themselves an early hole, as they gave up the first goal for the 43rd time this season.

"It's hard when you chase like we do," said defenseman Erik Karlsson. "We got lucky today with two late goals, especially the last one. If we want to get two points it's going to be hard, especially when we do this to ourselves."

NOTES: Senators LW Matt Puempel was summoned to Ottawa from the AHL affiliate in Binghamton for the fourth time of his career after the team traded LW Shane Prince and shut down C Kyle Turris, who has a high ankle sprain. Puempel entered his 15th NHL game this season with one goal and one assist. ... Senators D Patrick Wiercioch survived the trade deadline because GM Bryan Murray couldn't get what he thought was an acceptable return. Wiercioch was a healthy scratch for the fourth game in a row and the sixth time in the last 10. ... Blues C Jori Lehtera missed his third game with an upper-body injury, although he was also listed as a scratch, which suggests he's close to returning. ... Blues D Robert Bortuzzo was a scratch for the second consecutive game and ninth time in the last 18.

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