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 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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