LDN - Sports

Stone, Hoffman lead Sens past Blues

[January 18, 2017] ST. LOUIS -- Mark Stone expected the Ottawa Senators would need a couple of lucky bounces if they were going to defeat the St. Louis Blues on the road Tuesday night.

One of those bounces left the puck on his stick early in the third period, and he was able to score a tiebreaking goal which sent the Senators to a 6-4 victory.

"It was a good bounce for me," Stone said, "especially after a shift after they scored. We put on some good pressure and got a few chances. When you pressure any team, obviously, they're going to be loose pucks and I got it there and fired it in.

"When you get to play the premier teams, they've been good for the last 5 or 6 years, and any chance we get to come in here we know that they're going to push. They have a good home ice record usually so when we come here we know we're in for a battle and it's an opportunity that we love."

Stone's goal wiped out a rally by the Blues, who had come back from a 3-1 deficit on a goal by Kevin Shattenkirk with 46 seconds left in the second period and a power-play goal by Alexander Steen 1:35 into the third period, but all that momentum evaporated just one minute later.

A turnover by Jaden Schwartz set up Stone for the first of his two goals on the night, including a late empty-netter. Mike Hoffman also scored twice for the Senators.

"The fourth goal was a killer," said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock. "Turn it over and that's the game. To come back and make it 3-3 and have the momentum and give it back that quickly is disappointing. This is a frustrating loss, to come all the way back and give it away like that."

Schwartz was not made available to the media after the game, but teammate Kevin Shattenkirk said it was just a bad break which happened to go Ottawa's way.

"He's looking for the right play," Shattenkirk said. "The play is to hit the weak side d-man coming up on the far side and it hits a stick. We talk about execution a lot, what we all need to do. It happened to be him tonight. It's a tough one."

The Blues also thought the Senators got a fortunate call earlier in the game which resulted in a goal by Bobby Ryan. St. Louis goalie Carter Hutton thought he had the puck frozen under his pad but the referee did not blow his whistle and Ryan was able to poke it into the net, giving the Senators the 3-1 lead.

The goal continued Ryan's scoring outburst against the Blues, giving him 18 goals in 25 career games against the Blues, the most he has scored against any team.

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Blues goalie Carter Hutton (40) defends the net against Ottawa Senators right wing Mark Stone (61) during the second period at Scottrade Center. The Senators won 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

That goal came just 1:25 after Hoffman scored his first goal of the game, after another lucky bounce let the puck get to him alone at the side of the net.

"I'm just kind of sitting in that spot if the puck gets over to me," Hoffman said. "It wasn't much their goalie or their 'D.' It was just a lucky bounce that landed on my stick."

Hoffman added his second goal of the game at 13:53 of the third period, extending the Senators' lead to 5-3.

"I saw a lot of good things and it's on the road in a tough building against a good team and a big team," said Ottawa coach Guy Boucher. "It was a good bounce back after they got a late goal in the second on a power play and I thought it was a real character goal from Stoner."

The two teams traded goals in the opening period, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau scoring for the Senators and Paul Stastny scoring for the Blues. Patrik Berglund also scored for the Blues with just 48 seconds left in the game.

NOTES: D Brad Hunt was claimed by Nashville on Tuesday, the second player the Blues have lost through a waiver claim this month. Hunt had to clear waivers before St. Louis could return him to its American Hockey League affiliate. Hunt had one goal and three assists in nine games for the Blues. Earlier, St. Louis lost RW Ty Rattie to Carolina. ... Blues LW Scottie Upshall was made a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game. ... The Senators had hoped LW Clarke MacArthur would be able to join them on their current three-game trip, but he was left in Ottawa for more tests as he tries to recover from post-concussion syndrome. MacArthur has yet to play this season. ... The Senators play at Columbus on Thursday night while the Blues will host the Washington Capitals.

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