Sens sit third in Atlantic, but playoff berth far from secured
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The Ottawa Senators are in a prime position to do something they haven't done since 2017.
After back-to-back wins over the weekend against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Utah Hockey Club, the team sits in third place in the Atlantic Division and entrenched in a playoff spot a month before the trade deadline.
"I don't think I've seen our team that high in the standings [before],” defenceman Jake Sanderson said after their 3-1 win over Utah on Sunday. "So, it's nice, for sure, but [we have] a long ways to go."
Ottawa has a 26-20-4 record, leading the Boston Bruins for third place with a .560 point percentage and are one point ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. They sit five points behind the Florida Panthers for second place and six points behind the Maple Leafs for first.
The Senators have had to overcome some adversity to get to this point.
After beginning the season 8-11-1, the Senators rattled off 10 wins in their next 13 games to get themselves back in the race, led by 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark.
The 6-foot-4 netminder went on a tear, going 8-0-1 during that span, only allowing 13 goals and had a .954 save percentage
Ullmark was acquired from the Bruins in the off-season for goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, forward Mark Kastelic, and a draft pick. He later signed a four-year, $33 million extension with the Senators to solidify the goaltending position.
However, the team was then hit with a spate of injuries, including Ullmark who has been out of the lineup since Dec. 22 with a back injury.
The Senators struggled to get into the win column to begin the new year, but eventually found their way in large part by the emergence of 22-year-old netminder Leevi Merilainen. The 6-foot-3 goalie has gone 7-3-1 with two shutouts in Ullmark's absence to go along with a 2.19 goals-against average and .921 save percentage.
"The differentiator with Leevi is his mindset," Senators general manager and president of hockey operations told the media during a press conference on Jan. 12. "It doesn't seem like the moment is too big for him. He's got a real calm demeanor about him. I think that gives our group confidence and it gives him confidence that he can step up into these types of situations."
"It is part of my game, trying to stay as calm as possible and make saves that way," Merilainen told TSN after his 2-0 shutout win over the New York Islanders on Jan. 14. "I feel like it helps the guys to see that I am staying calm and not panicking out there. Of course, I'm happy with results here. Nothing much to it. Just trying to do my job as good as I can. I'm just happy to be here."
Ottawa went into a mini-scoring drought last week that saw them shutout in two straight games to the New York Rangers and Bruins before finally breaking through on Saturday against the Maple Leafs.Highlighted in that drought was captain Brady Tkachuk, who was pointless in 10 straight games, and veteran forward Claude Giroux, who hadn't recorded a goal since Dec. 29.
Both players broke through on Sunday with each recording a goal and Giroux adding an assist.
"When you don't score for a while, you don't talk about it, you try not to think about it, but it's in your head," Giroux told reporters the team's win on Sunday. "Stay away from social media because fans try to remind you, but at the end of the day, you know how you're doing.
"But with this team right now, it's not about who's scoring or anything like that, it's about getting the win. I think we've proved that this month."