OTTAWA, Ontario — Winning the games you’re supposed to win is a sure sign of a good team. In the highly unpredictable world of the National Hockey League, that’s easier said than done.
But the Blues took care of business Tuesday, defeating the Ottawa Senators, 5-2, in their first game at the Canadian Tire Centre in 28 months. Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice, Brayden Schenn stayed hot, the fourth line continued to sparkle. And Ville Husso? He continues to just win, baby, stopping 20 shots.
In a previous incarnation, the Senators won 11 Stanley Cups — but none since 1927. At 17-25-4, and buried in the Atlantic Division standings, the current Senators won’t be winning No. 12 this season.
As for the Blues, they improved to 28-14-5 — exceeding their victory total from last season (27) in a COVID-19-shortened 56-game season.
The Blues and Senators finally made up a game that originally was scheduled for Dec. 21 but was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. When the Blues were last seen in this building, on Oct. 10, 2019, they played before a half-empty house. On Tuesday, they played before an almost completely empty building.
In a throwback to early COVID-19 hockey from last season, Tuesday’s game was played before only 500 fans — all chosen via a lottery. The Senators are going to 50% capacity for their next home game on Saturday.
After a slow start for both teams, the Blues started heating up on a frigid Ontario night. That was particularly true for Schenn, who continued his recent torrid pace. On a faceoff in the left circle taken by Ryan O’Reilly for the Blues, a scrum of players scrambled for the puck, which wasn’t far from the dot.
In swooped Schenn, who swatted the puck past Ottawa goalie Matt Murray for a 1-0 Blues lead with 6:40 left in the opening period. It was Schenn’s 13th goal of the season, and his eighth in nine games since returning from the COVID list on Jan. 17. The Blues swarmed Murray both before and after the Schenn goal, controlling possession time and getting several prime chances.
But Murray stopped them all except for the Schenn score. Murray has been putting up Husso-like numbers lately with a 5-2-2 record, 1.79 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage in his past nine games.
As the period was winding down, an old Blues nemesis came back to bite them. Prior to their Jan. 24 game in Calgary, the Blues had been penalized only once all season for too many men on the ice. But a too many men infraction Tuesday was the Blues’ third in five games, and it didn’t take long for Ottawa to make them play.
St. Louisan Brady Tkachuk dumped the puck in, it deflected off Robert Bortuzzo, who lost his balance in the process. Tim Stutzle swooped in unimpeded and beat Husso with a backhand with 3:33 left in the first — or just 18 seconds after the penalty was called.
The Blues began the second period like they finished the first, buzzing around the Ottawa goal, winning lots of puck battles and creating good chances. It paid off early in the period, when Vladimir Tarasenko sent another one of his silky wristers — this time from the left circle — off a feed by Pavel Buchnevich.
So it was 2-1 Blues just 2:15 into the second period on Tarasenko’s 17th goal of the season; it came on the power play with Nick Paul off for hooking David Perron. It became 3-1 Blues a little over three minutes later when Tarasenko fed Robert Thomas in the near slot, and Thomas scored his sixth goal of the season.
But Ottawa wasn’t flustered. With plenty of traffic in front of the net, Parker Kelly’s shot from the left point got by Husso making it a 3-2 lead at the 6:53 mark. And that’s the way the period ended. The Blues received a scare when Ivan Barbashev got the worst of it on a block shot with under six minutes left in the second. He had to be assisted leaving the ice, favoring his right leg.
Barbashev went down the tunnel, but apparently walked it off. He returned to the bench — and the game — with a couple of minutes. The second period also included the Blues' first 5-on-3 advantage of the season. But it was only for nine seconds. The Blues couldn’t convert on those nine seconds, or the ensuing 5-on-4.
In the third period, Ottawa got its turn at a 5-on-3, and it wasn’t for a measly nine seconds. First Barbashev went off for hooking just 2:20 into the period, and then — here we go again — the Blues were whistled again for too many men on the ice. That left the Blues’ fourth-ranked penalty kill unit 1:14 of 5-on-3 disadvantage. With the help of one Ottawa shot off the post, they got the job done.
Midway through the period, the Blues got some much-needed breathing room. With Klim Kostin doing some grunt work around the net, and Murray scrambling and out of position, Oskar Sundqvist banged home a rebound into an open net to make it a 4-2 Blues lead at exactly the midpoint of the third period.
It was just his fourth goal of the season, but his second in as many games. It also marked the first time all season, the fourth line has scored in three consecutive games. Sundqvist fell on Murray in the process; Murray was shaken up and replaced by Anton Forsberg in goal.
Tarasenko’s second goal of the night, an empty-netter with 2:11 to play, tied him for the team scoring lead with Jordan Kyrou and 18 goals.
