2 takeaways from Senators' 2-0 shutout win against Islanders

With their 3-2 win on Sunday against the Dallas Stars, the Ottawa Senators headed to Long Island to face the New York Islanders for the third and final time this season.

The Senators fell by the exact score of 4-2 in both meetings against the Islanders in Ottawa on Nov. 7 and Dec. 8. The third time would turn out to be the charm for the Senators against the Islanders.

The Senators shutout the Islanders 2-0 at UBS Arena to improve to 22-18-3 on the season. With the win, the Senators extended their winning streak to three games.

Although the Senators scored two goals in every game played against the Islanders this season, two goals in the third meeting would turn out to be enough to earn a win.

2. When you fail once, try again

Less than two minutes into the game, Adam Gaudette appeared to have scored a goal, but the Islanders would challenge the call and the goal was waived off. That didn't stop Gaudette from trying to score again.

At 8:42 of the second period, Gaudette tipped in a shot from Tyler Kleven and it would go past Islanders goaltender Marcus Hogberg to give the Senators a 1-0 lead. Gaudette's goal would turn out to be the game winner. With his goal, Gaudette would end a 15-game goal drought. In a twist, the last goal Gaudette scored was against the Islanders in the Dec. 8 meeting.

Gaudette has now scored 14 goals this season, which is tied for the third most on the Senators. Gaudette's surprising offensive season grew bigger against the Islanders.

1. Calm, cool, collected

After earning the loss on Jan. 2 against the Stars, Leevi Merilainen wouldn't start the next three games with Anton Forsberg healthy. This past weekend, Merilainen earned back-to-back wins in a 28-hour span. One of the two wins was a shutout against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Against the Islanders, Merilainen continued his hot stretch.

Merilainen made 24 saves to earn his second career shutout. It was Merilainen's second shutout over a three-game span. At 22 years old, Merilainen is showing more improvement, but he's remaining calm, cool and collected doing so at the moment.

With his shutout, Merilainen is now 5-2-0 with a 1.99 goals against average and .925 save percentage on the season.

The Senators return to action tomorrow night when they play the Washington Capitals for the first time this season. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Canadian Tire Centre.