The Ottawa Senators continue to rise closer to the surface in the Atlantic.
They defeated the Utah Mammoth 4–2 on Sunday night at Canadian Tire Centre for their second win in as many nights. Leevi Meriläinen made 29 saves for the Senators, who now have just one regulation loss in their last 10 games (6-1-3). Ottawa leaned heavily on its secondary scoring to knock over the Mammoth, with goals from Nick Cousins, Ridly Greig, Jordan Spence, and Michael Amadio.
1. Meriläinen Makes His Case
Leevi Meriläinen was making his first start since October 27, a surprising stretch of inactivity given Linus Ullmark’s inconsistent start to the season. Meriläinen’s return gave the coaching staff plenty to think about after another calm, controlled performance in goal.
Yes, his season debut against Buffalo was a rough one, surrendering eight goals to the Sabres. But in his two games since he’s looked composed and confident, giving Ottawa a chance to win in each case. Meriläinen’s ability to make timely saves was crucial on Sunday.
2. Support Staff Steps Up
Ottawa’s depth came through in a big way.
- The backup goalie played well got the win.
- Ridly Greig opened the scoring with just his second goal of the season and first in 13 games.
- Nick Cousins scored his third goal of the season.
- Jordan Spence notched his first as a Senator, as fans continue to wonder, how much longer will the Sens keep a point-per-game (7) defenseman as a part-time player? With Spence moving up to play the second half of the game with Thomas Chabot, the answer appears to be: not much longer at all.
Getting contributions from across the lineup, which is crucial for any hockey team at any level, will be a major factor in Ottawa’s success this season.
3. It's A-Me, Amadio
Michael Amadio is starting to make it harder to describe his offense as “secondary.” The veteran forward scored his fourth goal in as many games and now sits third on the team with six goals this season.
A former 50-goal scorer in the OHL, Amadio’s production won't continue at this pace, but this run has been a pleasant surprise for a team that doesn't have a top 30 NHL scorer.
Former Ottawa Senator GM Passes Away At Age 70Mel Bridgman, the Senators' first GM, has passed away at the age of 704. The Mammoth Are (Is?) Fast
The Mammoth showed why they’re gaining a reputation as one of the NHL’s quicker teams. Both of their goals came off solo rush efforts, including a highlight-reel effort from Nick Schmaltz, who beat Jake Sanderson wide and cut to the net to score. It marked the second straight game Sanderson has lost a one-on-one showdown, after being victimized by Matvei Michkov on Saturday in Philadelphia.
Clayton Keller added another similar goal for Utah, forcing the Senators to make in-game adjustments to handle the pace.
“That’s a quick team over there,” head coach Travis Green told the media. “I thought the first period we did some good things, but their speed was an advantage for them. They were on top of us a couple of times, but we adapted, our defense made a few adjustments, and I liked the rest of our game for sure.”
With the win, Ottawa continues its slow but steady climb up the Atlantic standings at 8-5-1. The Sens have a busy week with home games against Dallas on Tuesday, Boston on Thursday and Washington on Saturday.
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