It was the loosest defensive game the Ottawa Senators have played in weeks, but there was no denying the fun Saturday afternoon at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Trailing 5-3 against their rival Boston Bruins with the goaltender pulled, the Senators scored twice in the final four minutes to tie the game, then won 6-5 in a shootout. This victory, for the moment, places Ottawa in first place in the Wild Card (WC1) of the Eastern Conference, now tied on points with Columbus and Boston.
With 3:13 left, Nick Jensen’s snap shot from the top of the circle brought the Senators within one point. Then, just when the Senators looked like they were out of gas and out of time, Claude Giroux fed Josh Norris in the high slot and Norris fired a one-timer through Jeremy Swayman’s pads to tie the game.
Norris will get all the love, and rightly so, but watch how Giroux tricks Boston’s Charlie Coyle into thinking he’s passing to Thomas Chabot at that moment. The second Coyle moves his stick to move away from that route, Giroux hits Norris on the boards.
Tim Stutzle scored the only goal of the shootout, suddenly sprinting past Swayman who missed his poke check attempt and was down. That left Stutzle with a near-empty net to shoot from.
THE SENSES SEAL THE DEAL ✅
Tim Stützle beats Jeremy Swayman’s pokecheck and Leevi Meriläinen stays perfect through three rounds of penalties pic.twitter.com/jAbOEyzYNf
– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 18, 2025
Stutzle also scored in regulation, as did Jake Sanderson and Adam Gaudette. Norris scored twice as the Senators blew a 2-0 lead.
Ottawa rookie Leevi Merilainen hasn’t been as solid as he has been over the past four games, but some of his 23 saves have been absolutely outstanding. He stopped all three shots in the shootout, including a nice attempt by David Pastrnak that almost seemed to insult the kid. After the attempt, Merilainen immediately glanced at Pastrnak as he walked away.
Merilainen says he has never experienced a match with such an ending.
“It’s probably the biggest comeback I’ve ever been a part of,” Merilainen told the media after the match.
As a franchise, the Sens haven’t experienced many things like this either. It’s only the third time in history that they have overcome a two-goal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation time.
As far as entertainment goes this season, today’s game rivals Ottawa’s 8-7 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thanksgiving. Today’s game was fiery, dynamic and emotional, with a serious playoff atmosphere. And why wouldn’t it be? Both teams are fighting for their playoff lives.
Ottawa’s late comeback represents a three-point gap from where things appeared to be heading Saturday, with the Bruins leading 5-3 and less than four minutes to play.
The Senators (23-18-4, 50 points) are now tied with the Bruins (22-19-6, 50 points) but the Sens have two games in hand. The Sens are also tied with the Blue Jackets (23-17-4, 50 points) for first Wild Card spot in the East, but the Sens get the edge thanks to wins in regulation. Columbus is in action later Saturday.
In most NHL markets, it’s probably too early to worry about the standings, but not in Ottawa. Over the past seven seasons, the Senators’ playoff chances have generally been dashed, like Old Yeller.
The Sens will be in New Jersey on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Devils lost to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, 3-1. The question now is whether Travis Green will send Merilainen to play both halves consecutively again or not?
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