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Merilainen stopped 12 of 14 shots in relief of Linus Ullmark (upper body) in Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Oilers.
The Senators tied the game at 1-1 early in the second period, but Merilainen gave up goals to Zach Hyman and Adam Henrique en route to taking the loss in his relief appearance. With due respect to the 22-year-old Merilainen, Ullmark's injury has put the Senators' goaltending depth in a worst-case scenario -- Anton Forsberg (undisclosed) is also out, and the team is on its longest road trip of the season. Merilianen has given up six goals on 39 shots across his two appearances. If both Ullmark and Forsberg are unavailable when the Senators' schedule resumes Saturday in Winnipeg, Merilainen would temporarily take over as the No. 1 goalie, and Mads Sogaard would likely rise to the NHL to fill the backup role.
