Hofer’s 41 saves lifts St. Louis Blues to 2-1 win over Ottawa Senators

OTTAWA — Joel Hofer made 41 saves and the St. Louis Blues held off a late rally from the Ottawa Senators to take a 2-1 win Saturday.

Jake Neighbours scored twice for the Blues (10-12-7), including the eventual game winner just 12 seconds into the third period.

He tipped a Pavel Buchnevich pass by Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark, who made 18 saves in the loss.

The Senators (13-11-4) solved Hofer on their seventh power play of the game. Fabian Zetterlund managed to jam home a loose puck and halve the deficit with 4:21 remaining.

With the Senators pressing for the equalizer, Ullmark was skating toward the bench when he made a diving save on a Robert Thomas shot.

Neighbours was able to get his stick on a puck that flew into the air on a Brayden Schenn shot, and gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 17:36 of the second period.

The St. Louis Blues were short-handed for much of the first period and outshot 15-2, but managed to hold off the Senators thanks to some solid play by Hofer, including a stellar save on David Perron late in the period.

Ottawa was unable to solve Hofer during four power-play chances in the period.

The Senators were without Shane Pinto, who was placed on injury reserve Friday and will be out a minimum of two weeks. Hayden Hodson was recalled from the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators.

The Blues lost Jordan Kyrou early in the first. Philip Broberg took a shot to the knee early in the third and needed help off the ice.

With the win, the Blues swept the season series after a 4-3 win over the Senators on Nov. 28.

Takeaways

Senators: Power play went 1-for-7.

Blues: The Blues didn’t generate a lot early on but capitalized on their opportunities.

Key stat

Oskar Sundqvist played his 400th game as a member of the Blues.

Key moment

In the first period, the Blues killed off a double-minor to Robert Thomas for high sticking Brady Tkachuk. Hofer made four saves during it.

Up next

Senators: Host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

Blues: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2025.