Senators search for consistent goaltending vs. Mammoth

The Utah Mammoth will aim to make it two wins in a row when they host a frustrated Ottawa Senators team on Wednesday.

Wednesday's game marks the second meeting of the season between these teams, with the Senators winning the first meeting 4-2 on Nov. 9 in Ottawa. The Senators have won each of the last three meetings against the Mammoth, and this rematch starts a crucial two-game trip against Utah and the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche.

The Mammoth return home after taking two out of three games on their East Coast road trip. Utah topped the New York Islanders 7-2, fell to the New Jersey Devils 4-1 and rallied to top the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime in the final game.

In that game, the Rangers had a 2-1 lead in the third period until Michael Carcone scored the game-tying goal at 6:15. Sean Durzi scored the OT game-winner on a tap-in set up by Nick Schmaltz.

Utah is 8-9-1 against Eastern Conference teams this season and 11-13-2 on the road, having played a league-high 26 road games. It will play 10 of its next 14 games at home before the league breaks for the Winter Olympics on Feb. 6-24.

"This trip is important because you can go back home 1-2 or you can go back 2-1, and that is a huge difference," Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny said. "We're the team who has played the most games on the road in the league. So now, we have an opportunity to balance everything out and to prove who we want to be. I think it was a big game."

Meanwhile, the Senators are 9-8-2 against the Western Conference and are looking for consistency. Ottawa has won six of its last 10 games but is coming off a tough 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen, who has been filling in between the pipes for Linus Ullmark, was pulled after the first period after allowing three goals on eight shots. Brady Tkachuk, Claude Giroux, and Dylan Cozens each scored goals as Ottawa outshot Detroit 37-21, but could get to closer than 4-3.

"We play that game 10 times, we might win it eight or nine times," Senators head coach Travis Green said. "That's the reality. We try to deal in reality. We try not to look for something that's not there. Truth is, we played a really good hockey game tonight."

Inconsistent goaltending has been a major factor for the Senators through the first half of the season. Ullmark had a roller-coaster start to the season as a starter, but went 5-2-1 in December before taking leave from the team for personal reasons.

Merilainen, who played just 14 NHL games before this season, has six wins and a 3.49 goals-against average on his 2025-26 campaign. The 23-year-old Finnish netminder, who owns a 6-7-0 record and 3.49 goals-against average, won two straight starts for the Senators before being pulled Monday.

--Field Level Media