OTTAWA — The Canadian Tire Centre hasn’t felt like this in nearly a decade. A vibrant, energetic, even chaotic, feel after a playoff victory. The postseason is still months away, but Saturday afternoon felt damn near close to it.
The Ottawa Senators were supposed to be lifeless against the Boston Bruins on Saturday, after seeing a 2-0 lead evaporate. The Sens were down 5-3 with a little over three minutes to play. Nick Jensen gave his team hope late in the period when he scored his third of the year. And then Josh Norris forced overtime with 12 seconds to play.
Enjoy this #Sens fans 👏 pic.twitter.com/dc3JrzmJ3m
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) January 18, 2025
“I was so out of breath, I was dying,” Norris said. “(Claude Giroux) put it on a platter for me.”
And after overtime solved nothing, the Senators completed the 6-5 comeback win with a Tim Stützle shootout winner and three saves from rookie goalie Leevi Meriläinen.
A playoff-like intensity in a building that hasn’t seen such a game in nearly eight years.
“For sure. There was,” Senators head coach Travis Green agreed. “Both teams knew it.”
“I’ve never been in a playoff game before,” Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said. “But I feel like that emulated pretty solidly tonight.
“There’s been some pretty awesome atmospheres. But, I don’t know, this one just felt different. It felt like a preview of what’s to come.”
Saturday afternoon’s tilt between the Bruins and Senators had everything you could want in a playoff game, even if the CTC had more opposing fans the normal. Such is life when an Original Six team is in town.
Back-and-forth offence between two desperate seeking points in the standings. Agitation and edginess, even culminating into scrums and fights. A highlight reel save, even in a game where goaltending wasn’t as much of a focal point as it should be. A thrilling three-on-three overtime with many near misses before a shootout where the Senators let their swagger show. Whether it was Stützle’s shootout goal and ensuing celebration or, moments later, Meriläinen staring down David Pastrnak after stopping him.
“Probably the greatest comeback I’ve ever been a part of,” Meriläinen said. “For sure. Such a crazy game. High emotions. Felt like a playoff game for the most part.
“We have such high-end talent that we all trusted that we can come back. Even though it seemed impossible. But we pulled it off.”
The Senators ended their game tied on points with the Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets with all three teams simultaneously tied for a playoff spot. But through points percentage, the Senators and Blue Jackets are in wild-card positions No. 1 and 2 with the Bruins on the outside looking in. For now. Ottawa’s fight for a postseason berth is just getting started. But this is the type of win that instills the belief that it could happen. The Senators showed off characteristics needed to win those types of games when they matter more in April and beyond.
Their turnaround will be rather short. Ottawa will be in New Jersey at 1 p.m. on Sunday. But this year’s Senators can remember this as a foundational game for their group. A team whose faith in itself grows with each passing performance who can at least say they’ve experienced a simulation of a home playoff game, responding well to adversity with a style needed in those types of games.
“That’s exactly what we talked about after the game,” Green said. “A big character win. We’re going to learn a lot of lessons as we go down the stretch and as we play these types of games. It was a hard-fought win tonight.”
Leevi Meriläinen’s day and another goalie update
The arena was brought to their feet early in the contest with a big save made by Meriläinen in the first period. That could go down as his best save since being called up in late December.
LEEVI MERILAINEN 🤯
All he does is continue to impress. #HockeyDay
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— NHL (@NHL) January 18, 2025
“It was electric,” Norris said. “The whole bench was up. A couple of guys just giving the side-eye to each other. He’s electric, man.”
Meriläinen was still on the hook for five goals allowed, the most he’s allowed in a game during his short time in the NHL. But there was Meriläinen, keeping his team in it once they forced overtime. Though he needed help from his crossbar after a Charlie Coyle chance.
“Just had to thank the crossbar for the help,” Meriläinen said.
Finally, Meriläinen stepped up when it mattered in the shootout, stopping Pastrnak, Coyle and Pavel Zacha.
As attention turns to Sunday afternoon’s game against the New Jersey Devils, who starts? If Meriläinen goes, it’ll be the second consecutive weekend he’ll play back-to-back home and away games. But why else would you go away from your hot hand? Despite the goals allowed, Meriläinen hasn’t lost in regulation since Jan. 2 against Dallas. Anton Forsberg hasn’t played since Jan. 9, but he hasn’t won a game since Nov. 25.
If you’re wondering about Linus Ullmark, he’ll be with the team in New Jersey. But it would take many by surprise if he played. Ullmark worked with a goalie coach on Friday but hasn’t skated with his teammates just yet.
Sens dominate Bruins at five-on-five despite pushback
The Senators looked good up 2-0 in the first period. At one point, the Senators held the Bruins to one shot on goal for nearly seven full minutes. Ottawa even ended the opening period with six high-danger chances to Boston’s one. But the Bruins erased that lead with three unanswered goals in the opening and middle period.
“I thought we let our guard down a little bit after we got the lead and we were playing pretty well in the first,” Green said. “But like playoff hockey, when you do that, the other team will take advantage of it. And they’re going to push. They’ve played a lot of playoff games over there. I thought we got it back for the third.”
Despite losing the lead, the Senators dominated most of the game at five-on-five. The Bruins controlled the game more in the second period, but it was the Senators’ own to take. Some will point to Tkachuk’s pointless streak stretching to six games, but he led all skaters with a 72.22 Corsi percentage and eight shots on net. Tkachuk even drew a screen on a game-tying goal from Norris in the second period.
The Sens regained control at five-on-five in the third, even while down two goals. And the Sens managed to tie the game with two empty-net goals, setting the stage for their extra-time heroics.
“It just speaks to what we’ve learned over the years,” Tkachuk said. “All that adversity we’ve faced. Everything happens for a reason. The belief that we have in this room that, not just tonight but every day that we have for each other and what we want to do, it’s growing every single day.”
(Top photo of Tim Stützle and the Senators: Troy Parla / Getty Images)
