Big second period leads Blues past Sens

[January 19, 2018]  Scoring three second-period goals, the St. Louis Blues added to the Ottawa Senators' season-long woes Thursday night with a 4-1 win at Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ontario.

Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Pietrangelo and Brayden Schenn gave St. Louis all the offense it needed in the middle period as it won its second straight game and tied Winnipeg atop the Central Division with 59 points. Carter Hutton made 20 saves to pick up the win.

Neither team scored in a pretty drab first period in which they took just seven shots each on net. But the Blues found the net in the second period -- a period that has killed Ottawa this season, as it now has a minus-29 goal differential in the second.

Tarasenko got the onslaught started at 6:13 with his 20th goal of the season. Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo unleashed a blast from the left point and Tarasenko was able to tip it by Craig Anderson.

Pietrangelo celebrated his birthday with his eighth goal at 12:51, pouncing on a loose puck after Anderson failed to corral a rebound and punching it home from the right circle. He became just the third St. Louis defenseman to score on his birthday in the last 30 seasons.

Schenn upped the lead to three goals at 16:53 with his 18th marker of the season. Alexander Steen fed him in the slot, and Schenn's backhander skittered through Anderson's pads.

 

Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) skates with the puck in the third period against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

The Senators got on the board 28 seconds later when Bobby Ryan's wrister from the right point made its way through traffic and beat Hutton high. It was the sixth goal for Ryan.

But Ottawa could get no closer, even though it killed off a 5-on-3 Blues' power play to start the third period. Steen administered the killing blow with his eighth goal of the season, an empty-netter at 18:42.

Anderson finished with 33 saves for the Senators, who were playing their first game in eight days. But the break did nothing to reverse their fortunes, as they fell to 15-19-9 a season after reaching the Eastern Conference finals.

--Field Level Media

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