OTTAWA — One day after posting his first career shutout, Leevi Merilainen made 24 saves to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars.
The Stars (27-14-1) came in riding a seven-game NHL winning streak having scored 27 goals through that stretch, but the 22-year-old Merilainen was impressive against one of the league’s hottest teams on Sunday.
Trailing 3-1, the Stars made it a one-goal game with Evgenii Dadonov scoring with 52.7 seconds remaining, but were unable to net the equalizer.
Sunday’s game marked Merilainen’s first appearance at Canadian Tire Centre this season with all five of his previous starts coming on the road.
Both teams were playing the back half of back-to-backs, but the Senators (21-18-3) gained momentum early in the second.
Jason Robertson opened the scoring for the Stars early in the first and they quickly took the lead in shots, but Merilainen was solid holding them off.
Josh Norris tied the game early in the second taking a pass from Drake Batherson and scoring from mid-air for his first in six games. Ottawa took the lead 39 seconds later when Casey DeSmith was caught out of position providing Tim Stutzle lots of room for his 14th of the season. DeSmith made 25 saves.
Matthew Highmore provided the Senators with some insurance scoring 21 seconds into the third period to make it 3-1. It marked Highmore’s first goal since April 21, 2022 when he was a member of the Vancouver Canucks.
TAKEAWAYS
Senators: Despite trailing 1-0 after the first period the Senators didn’t waver from their game plan and managed to take the lead after the second.
Stars: Dallas seemed to fade in the second period and were unable to match Ottawa’s energy.
KEY MOMENT
The Stars appeared to tie the game 2-2 midway through the second with a power-play goal, but the Senators challenged and it was ruled offside.
UP NEXT
Stars: Visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
Senators: Visit the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2025.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press