Ottawa Senators takeaways from 8-1 Blues blowout: Ullmark shines with 26 saves, scoring depth on display, and more

It was nothing short of complete domination for the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre Tuesday night. They imposed their will on the visiting St. Louis Blues, chasing goaltender Joel Hofer from the net while earning a convincing 8-1 win to improve to 5-4 through nine games.

Tim Stutzle and captain Brady Tkachuk each scored twice for the Senators, who also got goals from Josh Norris, Noah Gregor, and Adam Gaudette.

Blues head coach Drew Bannister yanked Hofer from the net after he surrendered Tkachuk's second goal in just over two minutes. Jordan Binnington's introduction to the game was a rude one, as Gaudette beat him just 42 seconds later.

For the Senators, it was their first victory by over seven goals since October of 2006.

Hofer finished with 16 saves before being pulled, while Binnington finished with 11 saves. Meanwhile, Ullmark made 26 saves on the 27 shots he faced.

Let's take a look at the three biggest takeaways from the Ottawa Senators' dominating performance over the Blues on Tuesday night.

3 Takeaways from Ottawa Senators' 8-1 win over St. Louis Blues

#3. The Senators took advantage of 23 giveaways from the Blues

The Blues were a defensive mess against the Senators, committing 23 giveaways which resulted in multiple odd-man rushes against.

Hofer didn't have his best performance, but his teammates didn't offer him much defensive support.

#2. Ottawa's power play came through and remains among the best in the NHL

The Senators were aided by a pair of power-play goals from Tkachuk helping to chase Hofer from the net.

Operating at 42.9% efficiency, the Ottawa Senators boast the second-best power play in the NHL behind only that of the 8-1 Winnipeg Jets.

Additionally, the Senators got multiple goals from their top two players as well as depth players, making their offensive output an all-around performance.

#1. Linus Ullmark bounced back from two porous starts with a solid performance

Ullmark started his third straight game for the Senators but was able to pick up the victory. This comes after allowing a combined nine goals in his previous pair of starts, a 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens and a 6-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

He stopped 26 of 27 shots the Blues fired his way, losing his bid for his first shutout with Ottawa midway through the third period. His goals-against-average improved to 2.76 with the win, his second wearing a Senators uniform.

The Ottawa Senators next hit the ice against the New York Rangers on Friday at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan; puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST.