Is there a genuine debate about who should back up Linus Ullmark when he's healthy enough to play again? Could the Senators lean on both?

Alex Ovechkin scored with 1:53 left in overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 1-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Merilainen, who played for Allen of the ECHL and Belleville of the American Hockey League in 2023-24 and began this season as the Senators' fourth-string goaltender, is the second goalie in Ottawa history, joining Andrew Hammond, to record multiple shutout wins in his first 10 NHL games.

OTTAWA -- Alex Ovechkin scored his 874th NHL goal at 3:07 of overtime, giving the Washington Capitals a 1-0 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.

The 39-year-old winger took a pass from Rasmus Sandin on a 2-on-1 breakaway and fired it past rookie Leevi Merilainen, the record 179th goaltender he's scored on.

Sidney Crosby is second with 22. Washington Capitals' Andrew Mangiapane (88) falls with the puck in front of Ottawa Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen (1) as Nikolas Matinpalo (33) defends ...

The Ottawa Senators fell short against the NHL-leading Washington Capitals in Thursday's 1-0 overtime loss, but proved they can hold their own against the best. Senators rookie netminder Leevi Merilainen conceded the game's lone goal to Alex Ovechkin in a 26-save performance.

The Ottawa Senators return home with a tall order as they take on the best team in the East and League — the Washington Capitals. Washington leads the league with a 0.716 save percentage at 63 points in 44 games.

Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist, Ethen Frank got his first NHL goal and the Washington Capitals beat the Nashville Predators 4-1

While the Ottawa Senators navigate the second half of the regular season without their starting goalie, their playoff hopes remain alive. That's in no small par

A victory against the Bruins is paramount because the Senators can move into the final wild-card spot in the East with a win over Boston and begin to close the gap with the rest of the division. That’s why it makes sense for the club to stick with Merilainen.

The Capitals will look to keep trending in the right direction against Ottawa, as Jakob Chychrun makes his return for the first time since being traded.