In Ottawa, the visiting St Louis Blues needed a strong third period on Tuesday night to put away the Senators. 
The Senators kept the game close through two periods of play, with the Blues ahead 3-2.
Oskar Sundqvist scored, and Vladimir Tarasenko hit for his second goal of the game in the final frame to send the Blues to a 5-2 win.
“He’s all over the ice,” the Blues’ Robert Thomas (goal and three points) said. “He’s playing the right way defensively. He’s in on the forecheck, he’s always open. [Tarasenko’s] a superstar, and when he plays like that, it’s tough for teams to defend.”
Ville Husso made 18 saves in the Blues win.
“The Thomas line was excellent tonight,” Blues head coach Craig Berube said. “Puck possession was excellent; they were strong on it. They competed on the puck, they kept it and hung on to it. It’s not always open space, they had to compete for it at times and they were strong.”
The Ottawa strikers were Tim Stutzle and Parker Kelly.
“I think it’s good for us to play a team like that to see what it takes,” the Senators’ Josh Brown said. “They’re a good team, so yeah, it’s a bit of a reality check. It’s great to play teams like that. I think that’s the next step for us as a younger group. We get to see how playing down low, cycling, and just hitting guys all over the ice, how that really pays off.”
The Senators dropped to 17-25-4.
“The way they play in the [offensive] zone, they don’t throw pucks away, they hold on, they grind you,” Senators head coach D.J. Smith said of the Blues. “I mean, we do have lots of guys out, but that’s what we want to be, that’s what you want to look for. Two years ago, they won the Stanley Cup playing that exact style, and that’s what you want to do. You want to be able to wear people down.”
Brayden Schenn also scored for the Blues, his strike gave St Louis a 1-0 lead.
“Everybody played desperate, especially, I want to mention Robert Bortuzzo,” Tarasenko said. “It’s unreal when you see a guy try to block a shot with every part of his body. It’s a huge credit to those guys. They might not share some spotlights in the media, but inside the team, we know. It’s insane, and it makes us proud of our teammates and makes us work hard.”
Matt Murray got the start for the Sens and made 27 saves, he surrendered four goals. He left the game in the third following a collision with Sundqvist.
Anton Forsberg made four saves to finish the game.
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