The Ottawa Senators are giving backup goalie Leevi Merilainen a chance to get some playing time and, in turn, get back on track. Read MoreThis is the equivalent of a conditioning stint for Merilainen, who likely wasn’t going to get the chance to play again for Ottawa until Oct. 28
This is the equivalent of a conditioning stint for Merilainen, who likely wasn’t going to get the chance to play again for Ottawa until Oct. 28
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The Ottawa Senators are giving backup goalie Leevi Merilainen a chance to get some playing time and, in turn, get back on track.
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The Senators sent Merilainen to their American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville on Sunday so he could face the Syracuse Crunch in a 3 p.m. matinee at CAA Arena.
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The expectation is that Merilainen, who didn’t require waivers to be sent to Belleville, will also face the Laval Rocket on Wednesday.
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The club recalled Mads Sogaard from Belleville, and he’ll be on the ice on Monday when the Senators return to practice after a 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon.
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He will likely dress as the backup to Linus Ullmark against the Edmonton Oilers, and there is a good chance he’ll be returned to the AHL before the Senators host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday in the final game of this homestand at the Canadian Tire Centre.
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Sogaard doesn’t require waivers to be sent back to Belleville because he has been cleared in the last 30 days. He has suited up for two games in the AHL and has a record of 0-1-1 and a 2.94 goals-against average.
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This is the equivalent of a conditioning stint for Merilainen, who likely wasn’t going to get the chance to play again for Ottawa until Oct. 28 against the Chicago Blackhawks on the road.
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Making $1.05 million U.S. in the first year of an extension he signed in the off-season to be the full-time backup, Merilainen struggled through training camp, and his first regular season outing in an 8-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres last Wednesday on the road wasn’t much better.
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Merilainen allowed seven goals on 26 shots against the Sabres and finished with a .731 save percentage. He’s a better netminder than those numbers, and we’re quite certain that goalie coach Justin Peters wants Merilainen to find a way through this rough stretch.
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