OTTAWA — Sometimes a quote says the quiet part so loud, it speaks volumes.
“I think Leevi (Merilainen) made some good saves. But I think, at the end of the day, you got to make more than 10 saves to win a game,” Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson said after Ottawa’s 6-5 loss to Montreal on Saturday.
You can understand the frustration for Sanderson, who had one of the best games of his career, tallying his second four-point game. His effort deserved a W as a reward — not a quote that reverberated around the Senators fanbase and the NHL.
We will never blame a player for being honest, and one imagines Sanderson would take the comment back if he could. It’s sometimes hard in the heat of the battle to not be emotional during a post-game presser.
What’s telling is the frustration and palpable emotion from Sanderson, a player otherwise known for his stoicism. Like the fanbase, he was visibly in anguish, the epitome of the 2025-26 Ottawa Senators.
If the season finished today, the Senators would have the third-worst team save percentage in the NHL since 1991-92. Of course, the Senators also are first and second on that list, but that was way back, when the team was wobbling into existence.
On Sunday night, the Sens lost 4-3 in overtime to Detroit in the second of a brutal back-to-back, with James Reimer between the pipes — his first appearance in an NHL season game in nearly a year. Maybe he’s the solution, but that’s a big if.
How many times can we write the story about how the Senators’ goaltending is holding the team back?
We surely will try — again.
Why? Simply because goaltending is the sole reason the Senators are not in a playoff spot and are on the verge of another lost season.
In the end, Sanderson’s statement was an ugly truth at a perilous time. He might regret it, but sometimes the truth hurts.
Merilainen hasn’t been good enough. At the same time, it’s not all on the 23-year-old, who was the de facto backup with 12 career games under his belt before this season. And he just played 10 in a row, capped by his poor performance against Montreal.
The decision to make Merilainen the No. 2 is squarely on general manager Steve Staios. Staios also traded for Linus Ullmark with his injury history and signed him to a massive $33-million contract. Staios couldn’t have predicted Ullmark would be away from the team for personal reasons, but Ullmark was one of the worst netminders in the league this season, before his absence. That’s on Staios, too.
The good news is that Ullmark is closer to returning. Meanwhile, the journeyman Reimer played his first game as a Senator in a respectable debut. Perhaps there is hope for the Senators in net. But is it too late?
When you think of Reimer’s career, you think of the Toronto Maple Leafs; now the Senators' season might rest on their erstwhile foe to turn heel into the ... "Reim-burglar"?
Either way, the Senators' bet on Reimer is as much a prayer as it is a calculated wager. It was rewarded on Sunday, as Reimer was the Senators’ best player. Only one other time this season, in Las Vegas (when it was Ullmark), has the netminder been the team’s best player.
We’re at game No. 48.
Reimer wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t allow any softies, thwarting 30 of 34 shots, with .74 goals saved above expected, according to Moneypuck.com. A Senators goalie saved more shots than expected! Hang the banner and plan the parade on Bank Street.
“A couple big servings of trust and grace,” said Reimer, about his approach to his first NHL game in almost a year.
WIth Reimer — whose nickname is "Optimus Reim," a nod to the Transformers — the Senators' aspirations are that he can transform their playoff odds.
Nevertheless, there was a reason Reimer had remained unsigned. He got a professional tryout with Toronto, of all places, in pre-season but was cut and then played for Canada at the Spengler Cup.
Since his days in Toronto, the 37-year-old Reimer has never played more than 48 games in a season and bounced around from team to team as a backup. He finished the 2024-25 season with an .896 save percentage. The Senators would be a playoff team with that degree of success.
Ironically, as a Leaf, Reimer was a stud at the Canadian Tire Centre, tormenting the Senators. The hope is that he can replicate that form in a red-and-black-crested Senators uniform.
During his 15 NHL seasons, Reimer has a 12-4-1 record and .935 save percentage at the Canadian Tire Centre.
“I joke about the water,” said Reimer, about his success in Ottawa. “Maybe it’s the beds at the Brookstreet (where opposing teams stay). I don’t know what it is. It’s where I played my first game. It’s special in that way. There’s something about this rink and the crowd that it just seems like it’s an earnest, excitable fan base. The building — it gets loud and it’s just a fun place to play.”
What Reimer represents for Ottawa — a team last in every goaltending category — is the possibility of league-average goaltending, because that’s what he’s been for the last five seasons.
Courtesy of Natural Stat Trick
Of course, age is a factor in Reimer’s play, but with the goaltending position, your birthdate doesn’t affect your play as much as it does forwards and defencemen. Ottawa fans remember how good Craig Anderson was at age 36, leading them to the conference final in 2017.
Then there is Ullmark's return and what that means for the Senators. At a human level, let’s hope the break has set his mind at peace. He is travelling with the team on the current road trip and we could see him play as soon as this week. Who knows which Linus Ullmark the Senators will get?
Whatever the answer, there is no room for him to play his way into form.
The Senators need wins.
Play the better goaltender.
Adams' apples
Montreal fans invade Ottawa: “We're used to it. Playing an away game at home,” said Sanderson, about the Montreal fans who invaded Ottawa on Saturday night. “It happens quite often.”
Optics matter. There was a reason Ridly Greig sent home Toronto fans with an empty-net slapshot in his own building.
The Senators organization sells seats at significantly higher prices against Canadian teams, specifically Montreal and Toronto, knowing opposing fans would pay top dollar. And some season-ticket holders cash in on the secondary market at prices that help fund the rest of the season. The result is a sea of Leafs blue or Habs red whenever Ottawa plays its biggest rivals.
Not ideal.
Last season, during the playoffs against Toronto, fans were worried. At the time, a Senators superfan, Kevin Lee, led a charge to keep the Canadian Tire Centre from turning blue in the Battle of Ontario playoff matchup.
In the end, all three home games in the playoff matchup were rocking with seats filled with Sens fans.
During last year's playoffs, the organization gave season-ticket holders priority access to buy their usual seats at a discount compared to the general sale prices, and also the ability to secure two more seats for the entirety of the playoffs. Finally, season-ticket holders were allowed to buy four additional tickets for family and friends, which were restricted from sale on the secondary market.
The organization and the fanbase need to come together to end the away games at home. There is no clearcut solution, but one thing is evident: more Senators fans need to have their butts in the Canadian Tire Centre whenever Montreal and Toronto come to town.
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