Manitoba goalie Joel Hofer steps up for St. Louis Blues

St. Louis Blues' Cam Fowler (17) teammate and goaltender Joel Hofer (30) celebrate their win over the Ottawa Senators following third period NHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby (Spencer Colby)

OTTAWA — Joel Hofer was bound to get a start, and Jordan Binnington a breather, in a St. Louis Blues’ three-game road swing that ended with two games in as many nights.

Hofer, a 25-year-old from Winnipeg, gave the Blues a solid 41-save performance in Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. St. Louis heads to Montreal to face the Canadiens on Sunday.

Every point is important for the Blues (10-12-7) looking to claw their way back into the playoff picture. They’re three points back of Chicago for the second wild card.

St. Louis needs Hofer to step up when he gets opportunities.

Hofer, the 107th overall pick in the 2018 draft by the Blues, signed a two-year extension in June.

When St. Louis took four minor penalties in Saturday’s first period, Hofer made big saves on Tim Stutzle and David Perron to keep the game scoreless. Hofer made a point-blank save on Stutzle with nine seconds remaining in regulation to preserve the victory.

“Amazing. Locked in from the get-go,” said Jake Neighbours, who scored both Blues goals.

“An undisciplined first from us kind of put (Hofer) under a lot of heat and he was ready to go. He was locked in as usual and one of the best I’ve seen him.”

Hofer’s performance earned him a Hockey Night in Canada towel, for which he’d already had plans.

“I’m going to make it into a golf towel,” he said. “Put a loop on it and hopefully not get it too dirty.”

Hofer likes to leave the net and is an active puck mover. He nearly scored an empty net goal in the final minute of play.

“It’s something I always enjoy doing,” said Hofer. “It gets me in the game, keeps me in the game, helps out my ‘D’ and I just try to help the team.”

Blue head coach Jim Montgomery praised his young netminder.

“He was fantastic,” said Montgomery. “He was seeing the puck at a level that was unbelievable and our (penalty kill) was unbelievable. The sacrifice by everybody, but it starts with him in nets.

“When he’s playing like that, same thing as when Binner’s playing like that which happens a lot for us, it energizes the bench. It makes us believe we can win any kind of game.

“We can believe we can win because how good our goalies are and Hofer was that guy tonight.”

Hofer was the primary reason Ottawa’s power play went 1-for-7. The Senators felt they played well enough to win, but needed more from multiple chances with a man advantage.

“When you have that many power play looks you probably should win,’ said Senators captain Brady Tkachuk. “Five-on-five, I thought we did a decent job. Honestly, just kind of a whirlwind of a game.”

Ottawa’s power play has gone 3-for-16 in its last five games.

“There’s a lot you can say are the keys,” said Senators head coach Travis Green said. “But they’re just not getting the job done. They’re on the outside a lot. The execution hasn’t been good enough either.”

Blues winger Jordan Kyrou left the game early. Montgomery called Kyrou’s status day-to-day, but added that “we think it’s a week to 10 days.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 06, 2025.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press