Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Steals shootout win

Merilainen turned aside 23 shots in regulation and overtime and all three shootout attempts he faced in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Bruins.

The Senators out-shot the visitors 44-28, but Merilainen allowed a career-high five goals and needed some late heroics from Josh Norris at the end of the third period just to force OT. The 22-year-old netminder redeemed himself in the shootout, denying Charlie Coyle, David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha to secure the victory. Merilainen's time in the NHL could be coming to an end for now with Linus Ullmark (back) close to coming off IR, but the Finn's firmly established as Ottawa's goalie of the future after his recent performances. Through nine NHL appearances this season, Merilainen has gone 6-2-1 with a 2.20 GAA and .917 save percentage. Anton Forsberg is a free agent next offseason, so it's possible the team will ship the veteran out and keep Merilainen around instead.