A promising, talented lineup under head coach Travis Green is at risk of missing the postseason because the Senators can’t buy a save, Travis Yost writes.
Question Period: Do the Sens have the assets to make a deal and get some help?The Senators officially ended a lengthy rebuild last season, returning to the playoffs with a 97-point campaign in 2024-25.
Ottawa was eliminated by the provincial rivalMany of their homegrown prospects had shown they were NHL-ready, and, just as promisingly, the Senators appeared to have found their long-term solution in net. The recently acquired) offered real stability. So much so, the Senators finished eighth in the NHL in team save percentage, stopping 90.1 per cent of shots faced. But that stability has broken down in stunning fashion this season. A very similar Senators lineup is struggling mightily to stay afloat in an otherwise weak Atlantic Division, and it’s almost entirely because they cannot keep pucks out of their own net. Ullmark has struggled and is now away from the team while dealing with a personal matter. Backup Leevi Merilainen has struggled just as much in relief. Their save percentage as a team has fallen to dead last in the NHL, with Senators goalies barely stopping 87 per cent of shots faced. Using goals saved versus expected , the 2025-26 Ullmark and Merilainen tandem looks identical to the tail end of theera. And if Ullmark is gone for an extended period of time, Ottawa will have to look even further down the depth chart to dig out of this performance hole:Simply put: every 60 minutes of hockey played, Ottawa’s goaltenders are giving up half a goal more than you would expect from replacement-level goaltending. One important qualifier here on why it appears to be such an outsized goaltending issue underway in Ottawa right now – shot rates faced and expected goals look very similar to last season. Sometimes when you see goaltending suddenly capitulate like this, it’s a function or byproduct of suddenly shoddy defensive play. Ottawa is not the most robust defensive team in the league, but the Ullmark/Merilainen tandem is facing less defensive pressure than ever, and notably at even-strength. Shots faced and expected goals are at multi-year lows, and in considerable fashion:Merilainen has only played in 13 games and has all of 27 games of NHL experience at this point in his career. I think it’s fair to say the 23-year-old may need some time to get comfortable at this level, though he’s clearly underwhelming compared to where Forsberg was a season ago. The much bigger concern here is Ullmark, who signed a four-year, $33 million-dollar extension in October 2024. Goaltending slumps happen everywhere and it’s more than reasonable to hope that a veteran like Ullmark can pull himself out of this stretch; if nothing else, the Senators are desperately counting on it. But the career trend is not good – he doesn’t look anything like the goalie we saw the past few years in Boston and Ottawa. Instead, he’s more in line with the early edition version theThe season is not lost for Ottawa, certainly not in such a middling division. And there are still core pieces of this team to like – the Senators have a top 10 offence at both even strength and on the power play , which can offset some of the defensive pain they are feeling right now. It’s one reason why this team is 6-3-1 in their past 10 games. But goaltending this shambolic is usually difficult to overcome long term. If Ullmark and Merilainen can crawl back just to league average, Ottawa will appear to be the playoff-calibre team they were a season ago, especially with the offence scoring the way it is. If not, this team is shockingly going to be back in draft lottery discussions, with sudden questions about the health of their goaltending position.
Ottawa-Senators--Sports--Hockey--Team--Team-Nhl-Ap Linus-Ullmark--Sports--Hockey--Player--Player-Nhl- Leevi-Merilinen--Sports--Hockey--Player--Player-Nh
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Taylor Swift Sparks Debate Over Wedding Outfit ChoiceTaylor Swift's choice of a gold metallic gown for a friend's New Year's Eve wedding in California has ignited online criticism, with some accusing her of upstaging the bride. Despite the backlash, supporters defended the singer's look, citing its appropriateness. The incident comes amid reports of Swift and Travis Kelce planning a large wedding in Rhode Island. Swift attended the wedding with Stevie Nicks, who kept to her signature all-black style.
Read more »
Chabot scores twice for Senators who hand Jets their ninth straight lossThe Winnipeg Jets dropped their ninth straight game on Saturday, falling 4-2 to the Ottawa Senators.
Read more »
Warriors F Green ejected again, taking season technicals total to nineGolden State forward Draymond Green was ejected late in the first half of the Warriors’ game against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night after consecutive technical fouls for arguing with officials.
Read more »
Puck to the face isn’t enough to stop Senators’ ChabotDefenceman has dealt with injuries throughout his career, earning his teammates’ respect along the way
Read more »
Chabot scores twice for Senators who hand Jets their ninth straight lossThe Winnipeg Jets dropped their ninth straight game on Saturday, falling 4-2 to the Ottawa Senators.
Read more »
Pepe rallies 76% as memecoins turn green – What’s driving the move?Pepe [PEPE] rallies 76% in a week as memecoins surge, pushing total market cap up $10B. Could 2026 see a new memecoin season?
Read more »