The Ottawa Senators are having a battle with their young goaltenders Leevi Merilainen and Mads Sogaard. With both Linus Ullmark and Anton Forsberg out with injuries, the Senators are putting their faith now into two young goaltenders.
Merilainen is 22 years old; Sogaard is 24 years old. Both goaltenders still have the ability to reach their full potential despite not playing a whole lot of time in the NHL.
Ullmark's return is "anybody's guess." For Forsberg, he's been out with an injury since Dec. 14. If the Senators want to find their goaltender to start with both Ullmark and Forsberg out, 2024's play between Merilainen and Sogaard could help determine on which goaltender to play.
Merilainen has been better this season than Sogaard
For Merilainen, he hadn't played in an NHL game since April 2023. When Forsberg got injured 16 days ago, the Senators called up Merilainen. In three games this season, Merilainen has answered the call better than what most people would've expected.
Merilainen is 2-1-0 this season, but the loss came when he came in relief of Ullmark on Dec. 22 against the Edmonton Oilers at the start of the second period. Despite earning the loss, Merilainen made 12 saves against a high powered Oilers offense, but the Senators are 2-0-0 when he starts.
Last night in the Senators' 3-1 win against the Minnesota Wild, Merilainen out-dueled Filip Gustavsson by making 30 saves to earn his second career NHL win. To out-duel Gustavsson, one of the top goaltenders in the NHL, is a big sign toward improvement. For Merilainen to be 2-1-0 this season with a 2.68 goals against average and .900 save percentage, is big for a goaltender who hadn't played in an NHL game since April 2023. The same can't really be said for Sogaard.
Sogaard has played in two games this season and is 1-1-0, but when he earned his win, he allowed in four goals on Oct. 14 in a relief performance against the Los Angeles Kings. When Sogaard started this past Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets, he allowed in four goals again. This season, Sogaard has a 5.24 goals against average and .800 save percentage.
Since being drafted in 2019, Sogaard has disappointed for being a 37th overall pick. Along with having injuries, Soogard has underperformed in his career by having an 11-11-0 record in 29 career games (25 started), with a 3.55 goals against average and .878 save percentage.
Merilainen was taken 71st overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. Despite playing in 24 less games in his career than Sogaard, Merilainen is 2-2-1 with a 3.23 goals against average and .891 save percentage.
The Senators will rely on Ullmark to be the full-time starter when he's healthy to return, but it's unsure when. Merilainen has gotten better in three games this season after not playing since April 2023, while Sogaard has struggled again. The Senators have three more games on their nine-game road trip to play.