Ottawa Senators no match for the St. Louis Blues in the Show Me State

After a 9-3-1 record in December, the Senators have lost four of their last five games

Published Jan 03, 2025  •  Last updated 11 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

St. Louis Blues' Brandon Saad (20) scores past Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in St. Louis. Photo by Jeff Roberson /AP Photo

BLUES 4, SENATORS 0

A night about redemption for the Ottawa Senators ended in frustration.

Coming off a 4-2 loss to the Stars in Dallas on Thursday, which captain Brady Tkachuk called “embarrassing” and “unacceptable,” the Senators were determined to get their act together in the Show Me State against the St. Louis Blues.

Instead, the Senators continued to fall apart at the seams with their fourth loss in five games, this one a 4-0 decision at the Enterprise Center with Brandon Saad scoring a natural hat trick for the Blues.

Article content

Though the finger will be pointed at Anton Forsberg’s lousy performance in his first game back from an undisclosed injury, no aspect of the club’s game was up to par as Jordan Binnington made 20 stops for the win.

It’s the first time in 38 games this season Ottawa was shutout.

“We didn’t create enough,” Ottawa coach Travis Green told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson. “Offensively, their top guys got four of them and we’ve got to find a way to get some more offence out of our group. We’re playing well defensively.”

The Senators are still sitting in the final wildcard spot in the East, but they’d better find an answer to their doldrums soon. This was the club’s second straight loss, and it was uninspiring, to say the least.

RETURN OF ANTON

Three weeks after suffering an undisclosed lower-body injury in the gym before a game, Forsberg returned to the net for this one.

He hasn’t been at his best this season and that trend continued as Saad’s second goal of the night gave the Blues a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes.

Forsberg missed six games with the ailment and dressed as the backup in Dallas, but this was his first appearance since Dec. 8. His absence hasn’t been easy with Linus Ullmark out with a back ailment he suffered on Dec. 22 in Edmonton that has forced him to miss 17 days.

Article content

Article content

Forsberg came into this game with just one win in his previous five starts. That victory was posted with 27 stops in a 4-3 decision against the Calgary Flames on Nov. 27 at home.

This was only the third time in his career that Forsberg had faced the Blues, but he went into the game with a 1-1-0 record, a 2.35 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.

A TOUGH START

Sometimes teams give up goals on bad breaks, but in this case, it was bad breakaways as the Blues scored twice in the opening period on similar plays.

A turnover in the Blues’ zone allowed Brayden Schenn to take a pass through the middle of the ice, skate in alone and beat Forsberg with a backhand on the glove side to open the scoring.

That came at 7:26 of the first and the Senators held a 4-13-2 record when they allowed the first goal. This was the third straight game that the Senators have surrendered the opening goal.

Saad then outraced Nick Jensen to a puck in the Ottawa zone and beat Forsberg with a backhand at 15:50 of the first.

“We gave up a couple of breakaways there and it’s (Forsberg’s) first game back so that can’t happen,” winger Drake Batherson told TSN’s Matt Cullen after the disastrous first.

Article content

ALMOST OVER

The visit to St. Louis was the eighth stop in this lengthy nine-straight road trip. The club returned home after the game and will skate in Ottawa before heading to Detroit on Monday.

The last time the Senators faced the Blues, they scored an 8-1 win at home on Oct. 29. Ottawa came into this game with a 4-3-0 record on this trip and the club was looking for its 20th win of the season.

The Senators have looked like a road-weary team in the past two games and haven’t been able to generate much. Goal scoring shouldn’t be an issue for the Senators but it’s become one during this stretch.

Ottawa appeared to pull within two goals with 34 seconds left in the second when Thomas Chabot fired one home. But the Blues challenged for offside and that one was brought back because Nick Cousins was offside.

“We were slow to start,” Chabot told Wilson. “The chances we gave them were Grade ‘A’ and talented players are going to find the way to put the puck in the back of the net.”

They couldn’t bury the chances they did get on Binnington and it was costly.

Cousins missed a glorious opportunity to pull the Senators to within a goal when he had Binnington beat only to see the puck slip off his stick, across the crease and out the other side.

[email protected]

Article content