Merilainen was reassigned to AHL Belleville on Wednesday.
Merilainen, who was recalled Tuesday, didn't end up playing in Ottawa's 5-2 victory over Philadelphia. Anton Forsberg got the nod, stopping 20 of 22 shots, but Merilainen did dress as the backup instead of Linus Ullmark. The 31-year-old Ullmark made 48 saves in a victory over Detroit on Monday, so presumably, Ottawa wanted to give him a breather, which seems to be why Merilainen was briefly on the NHL roster.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Easy work for third shutout
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Merilainen posted a 16-save shutout in Saturday's 6-0 win over the Wild.
The Senators kept traffic away from Merilainen, outshooting the Wild 52-16 in the contest. This was Merilainen's third career shutout, all of which have come this season. The 22-year-old has won six of his last eight outings, and he's allowed more than two goals in just one of those contests. Overall, the Finn is 8-3-1 with a 1.99 GAA and a .925 save percentage over 12 games. Linus Ullmark (back) is close to a return, but Merilainen has outplayed Anton Forsberg -- it's unclear who the Senators will tab to take on the backup role once Ullmark is healthy.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Facing Wild
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Merilainen will patrol the home crease versus Minnesota on Saturday, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.
Merilainen was outstanding Sunday, stopping 34 of 35 shots in a 3-1 win over Utah. The victory gave Merilainen a 7-3-1 record to go with a 2.19 GAA and a .921 save percentage. The Wild are averaging 2.94 goals per game, 16th in the NHL.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Strong display in win
Rotowire
Merilainen stopped 34 of 35 shots in Sunday's 3-1 win over Utah.
Merilainen allowed a second-period goal to Clayton Keller, one of the hottest players in the NHL over the last two weeks, but he was excellent the rest of the way. The 22-year-old has won five of his last seven starts, going 5-1-1 with a 1.69 GAA and a .940 save percentage over that span. He's expected to remain the top option between the pipes for Ottawa as long as Linus Ullmark (back) remains out.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Between pipes Tuesday
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Merilainen will defend the road cage Tuesday versus the Rangers, according to TSN 1200 Ottawa.
Merilainen had his worst outing of the season Saturday, conceding five goals on 28 shots, but he still came out with a win in a high-scoring affair against Boston. The Finnish netminder has only lost twice in regulation through nine outings in 2024-25, turning in two shutouts over those appearances. The Rangers are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to Montreal on Sunday.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Slated to face Boston
Rotowire
Merilainen is expected to start at home against Boston on Saturday, according to TSN 1200 Ottawa.
It will be Merilainen's fifth straight start, and it's not hard to see why Ottawa keeps going back to him. He's posted a 3-0-1 record, 0.74 GAA and .971 save percentage over that stretch, which gives him a 5-2-1 record with a 1.84 GAA and a .930 save percentage in eight outings this season. If Merilainen keeps playing like this, he might stick with the NHL squad even after Linus Ullmark (back) returns. The Bruins rank 26th in goals per game with 2.65.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Saddled with overtime loss
Rotowire
Merilainen turned aside 27 of 28 shots faced during Thursday's 1-0 home loss to the Capitals.
Merilainen stood tall against the vaunted Capitals before surrendering Alex Ovechkin's 874th career goal in overtime. The 22-year-old Finn looks to have edged out Anton Forsberg as the replacement for Linus Ullmark (back) while the latter is on the injured list, so fantasy managers should consider adding Merilainen if he's still available.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Drawing road start
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Merilainen will defend the road cage Tuesday versus the Islanders, according to TSN 1200 Ottawa.
After conceding four goals in a loss to Dallas in his first start in January, Merilainen has won back-to-back games, including a 29-save shutout over Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Islanders are tied for 26th in the league with 2.67 goals per game, but they've played better recently, having gone 3-0-0 on their most recent road trip.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Collects first career shutout
Rotowire
Merilainen made 29 saves in Saturday's 5-0 win over the Penguins.
Ottawa scored three times in the first period, so the only real suspense in the game came from whether Merilainen would be able to secure his first NHL shutout. The 22-year-old has played well overall since making his season debut in late December, going 3-2-0 in five outings with a 2.42 GAA and .911 save percentage. With Linus Ullmark (back) still lacking a timeline for his return, Merilainen should continue splitting the workload in the crease with Anton Forsberg for the Senators.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Gets little help from teammates
Rotowire
Merilainen made 21 saves in a 4-2 loss to Dallas on Thursday.
It was a tough night for Merilainen, who had won both of his starts so far this season. However, his teammates mustered just 13 shots on Jake Oettinger at the other end of the ice, and few goalies can win with that little effort from his teammates. Anton Forsberg, who hadn't dressed for six games due to a lower-body injury, returned as his backup and will likely get the team's next start.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Starting against Dallas
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Merilainen will tend the twine for Thursday's road game against Dallas, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.
Merilainen has been inconsistent over his last few appearances, going 2-1-0 with a 2.68 GAA and .900 save percentage across his last three outings. Although he'll draw the start for the third time in the Senators' last five games, head coach Travis Green said that Anton Forsberg (lower body) will dress as the backup for Thursday's matchup, so Merilainen's opportunities will likely decrease soon.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Expected to start Sunday
Rotowire
Merilainen is set to start on the road against Minnesota on Sunday, per TSN 1200 Ottawa.
Merilainen stopped 12 of 14 shots in 36:39 of ice time last Sunday and was charged for the loss in a 3-1 defeat to Edmonton. One day prior to that outing, he turned aside 21 of 25 shots in a 5-4 overtime victory over Vancouver. The Wild have an impressive 22-10-4 record, though they are middling in terms of goals per game, tied for 20th with 2.94.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Wins in overtime
Rotowire
Merilainen allowed four goals on 25 shots in Saturday's 5-4 overtime win over the Canucks.
Merilainen allowed the Canucks to bounce back from three deficits but still came away with the win when Jake Sanderson scored 13 seconds into the extra session. Merilainen made his first NHL appearance since the 2022-23 season and earned his first career win. The 22-year-old has been backing up the red-hot Linus Ullmark since Anton Forsberg (undisclosed) went down with an injury last weekend. Don't expect Merilainen to get many starts, though he could make another appearance when the Senators resume playing after the holiday break in a road back-to-back against Winnipeg (Dec. 28) and Minnesota (Dec. 29).
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Starting in Vancouver
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Merilainen will guard the road net Saturday against the Canucks, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.
It'll be the first start of the year for Merilainen. The 22-year-old netminder last appeared in the NHL in 2022, when he went 0-1-1 while stopping 43 of 49 shots across two games. Merilainen will be tasked with facing a Vancouver team that's averaging 3.09 goals per game this season.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Brought up from minors
Rotowire
Merilainen was recalled from AHL Belleville on Sunday.
Merilainen will accompany Ottawa on the team's four-game road trip before the holiday break. Anton Forsberg (undisclosed) didn't make his scheduled start against Pittsburgh on Saturday after suffering an injury while warming up for the game. With Forsberg staying behind for the trip, Linus Ullmark will likely see an increased workload.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Elevated from minors
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Merilainen was recalled from AHL Belleville on Tuesday to serve as the backup against Utah, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.
Merilainen's promotion comes as Anton Forsberg was confirmed as the starter Tuesday while Linus Ullmark (strain) remains on the shelf. With the team calling Ullmark day-to-day and no back-to-backs on the short-term schedule, Merilainen is unlikely to see any starts while up in the NHL.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Suiting up Sunday
Rotowire
Merilainen (groin) will be in the lineup for Sunday's preseason contest against Pittsburgh.
Merilainen had been unable to practice for most of training camp after injuring his groin during Ottawa's rookie camp, but he could get his first game action of the preseason in Sunday's matchup. Merilainen will probably begin the 2024-25 campaign with AHL Belleville.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Back at top level
Rotowire
Merilainen was recalled from AHL Belleville on Saturday.
Joonas Korpisalo was unable to start Friday due to an illness. Merilainen is 7-6-1 with a 3.02 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 16 AHL appearances this season. The Senators are quite high on the 20-year-old Finnish netminder after selecting him in the third round of the 2020 Draft.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Gets hook in Florida
Rotowire
Merilainen stopped nine of 12 shots before being replaced by Mads Sogaard early in the second period of Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Panthers.
It was a rough second appearance in the NHL for Merilainen, although Sogaard didn't fare any better in his place. With the Senators now officially eliminated from the playoffs, the two young netminders -- Sogaard is 22, while Merilainen is only 20 -- could see the bulk of the work between the pipes for the remainder of the schedule instead of 35-year-old Cam Talbot.
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Senators' Leevi Merilainen: Facing Panthers
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Merilainen will be between the visiting pipes in Florida on Thursday, Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen reports.
Merilainen made his NHL debut Tuesday in a 3-2 overtime loss to Carolina, stopping 34 shots. The Senators are on the verge of elimination in the Eastern Conference and are looking towards the future by playing Merilainen against the Panthers. Florida is fifth in NHL scoring, averaging 3.49 goals per game.
