Leevi Merilainen looked like a goaltender on a mission in his Wednesday night start. He looked like a goaltender looking to prove people wrong from the fans, the hockey to his teammates in the NHL. That’s certainly how things looked when he stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced to fuel a 3-2 Belleville Senators overtime win. “He really held the fort down there when Wilkes (Barre) made numerous pushes, and he was our best player by a mile,” head coach Andrew Campbell stated after the game.
Related: Observations: AHL All-Stars, Quick Hits
The past week was a rough one for the 23-year-old goaltender. He cost the Ottawa Senators a win with his performance against the Montreal Canadiens, and it prompted core players, led by Jake Sanderson, to call him out. Goaltenders must make saves and be part of the success and not the failures of a team. In the recent game, Merilainen was the reason they won and upset a Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins team that is one of the best in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Why Merilainen Struggled in the NHL (& Thrives in the AHL)
Interestingly, the Penguins AHL star goaltender Sergei Murashov is in a similar spot as Merilainen. Both goaltenders are putting together great seasons in the AHL but are struggling at the next level. Murashov noted that the NHL is just a step faster and more skilled, but the style of play is different.
Merilainen noted that the big adjustment is “The speed, the speed of everything.” The players are just a step faster, and their shots are a notch harder while the skill is just that much better than the AHL. “It’s a lot more predictable in the NHL. There aren’t too many broken plays,” he added. It’s another layer to the NHL that the game is structured, and there isn’t chaos on a given play. Instead, the offense has a design and plan to beat a goaltender, and they usually do.
The move from the AHL to the NHL is a rough one. It comes on top of an adjustment from the European game to the North American one, which a lot of goaltenders who come from overseas struggle with. “North America, compared to Europe, you have a lot more action in front of the net,” Merilainen added, and when opponents get to the dirty areas, they make him uncomfortable. Meralainen is asked to stop deflected pucks, dirty area goals, and pile-ups in front of his crease, things he didn’t experience when he played in Finland. The strength in the NHL is overwhelming, and it’s easy to see how it overwhelmed him.
Where Merilainen Must Improve
“He just has to stack games on games and performances like that,” Campbell added after the game. Goaltenders can have great games on any given night but few can do so consistently. Meralainen has a chance to build up that consistency and put together multiple strong starts with the AHL team since they will lean on him to do so. “Getting games in and getting reps in that’s huge,” Merilainen remarked after the latest game.
The Senators will inevitably call him up at some point, and the question is whether Merilainen is a reliable backup option. His starts in the NHL throughout the season suggest otherwise. His preparation in Belleville indicates that he can fill in as he’s worked on “Being ready for everything.”
When He’ll Get Another Chance in Ottawa
The AHL team has two road games this weekend, a Friday night matchup against the Providence Bruins, followed by a Saturday night game against the Springfield Thunderbirds. “We have two more games this weekend, and he’ll play one of the two and continue to build,” Campbell stated.
Merilainen will presumably start the first game. The Bruins are another elite team in the AHL and will test him. On top of that, the Bruins have Michael DiPietro, who is an elite goaltender who can battle with Merilainen. Winning that game will put him back on call-up watch.
The timeline for Linus Ullmark to return is unknown. James Reimer and Hunter Shepard are good placeholders while Mads Sogaard, who is also on the AHL team, is a younger option who is unproven at the NHL level. It puts a lot of pressure on Merilainen to return and save what’s become a difficult season for the Senators.
