Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone each scored twice as the Ottawa Senators kicked off the second half of their season on a winning note against the Blues in St. Louis by a score of 6-4.

In a game where neither team reached 25 shots, it was the Blues save percentage that once again did them in, as Carter Hutton got the start but allowed five goals on just 23 shots. Mike Condon did enough to win, but his sub-.900 save percentage might not be enough to win a lot of games. This was one time the offense was able to make up for a bit of a shaky start in net, but it is about time that Condon got some help on a night he didn't have his "A" game.

Ottawa never trailed in a game that saw them hold leads of 1-0 and 3-1, but St. Louis battled back to tie it at 3 before Stone scored two goals (the second into and empty net) with Hoffman netting his second in between during the third period. The Blues added one late, but with left than a minute left and there wasn't enough time for them to mount a serious comeback.

Bobby Ryan and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored for the Senators. For Ryan the goal gives him a 3 game point streak during which he has played his best hockey of the season so it might be baby steps to getting back to where he needs to be and where the Senators want him (and are paying him) to be. For Pageau, it was his first goal in over a month (Dec 7th @ San Jose) and his fifth of the season.

So a successful road game, where they held a quality opponent to 23 shots and came away with a much needed two points and have now won three of their last 4 following a tough stretch after Christmas.

They moved into the second Wild Card spot, kept pace with the Maple Leafs, tied in points and games played with a second showdown in a week on Saturday night in Toronto.

Now they head to face the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are still leading the Eastern Conference on the strength of their 16 game winning streak, but have since cooled down slightly.

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