National Hockey League
Ottawa 3, Minnesota 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 29, 2024
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Frederick L'Ecuyer
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Brandon Grillo
Attendance: 18989

Josh Norris scored the go-ahead goal with 7:18 remaining in the third period, and the Ottawa Senators held on for a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night in Saint Paul, Minn.

Ridly Greig and Claude Giroux also scored for Ottawa, which snapped a two-game skid. The Senators improved to 7-2-0 in their past nine contests.

Frederick Gaudreau scored the lone goal for Minnesota. The Wild's two-game winning streak came to an end.

Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen stopped 30 of 31 shots to pick up his second career win in his fifth game. The save total marked the second-most in the brief career of the 22-year-old from Finland.

Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson turned aside 34 of 36 shots but took the hard-luck loss. He fell to 16-6-3 on the season.

The Wild opened the scoring with 2:41 remaining in the first period.

Declan Chisholm waited near the top of the left circle after Minnesota won a faceoff in the offensive zone. Marcus Foligno flipped a backhanded pass to Chisholm, and he blasted a wrist shot that Gaudreau deflected for his first goal since Dec. 12.

Ottawa pulled even at 1-1 with 18:13 to go in the second period.

Travis Hamonic fired a long slap shot from near the blue line that Brady Tkachuk tried to redirect. The attempt went wide of the net and bounced off the end boards, but Greig tracked the ricochet and punched the puck in the goal.

Norris provided the tiebreaking goal on a one-timer from the right circle. He took a pass from Jake Sanderson and blasted it past Gustavsson for his second goal in the past four games.

Giroux added an empty-net score in the final minute.

The Senators finished 1-for-2 on the power play, while Minnesota went 0-for-2.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Ottawa   Minnesota
Claude Giroux 1 Points Frederick Gaudreau 1
Claude Giroux 1 Goals Frederick Gaudreau 1
Drake Batherson 1 Assists Declan Chisholm 1
Josh Norris 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Leevi Merilainen .968 Save Percentage Filip Gustavsson .944
Leevi Merilainen 30 Saves Filip Gustavsson 34
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Ottawa 37 3 1-2 2-2 11 31
Minnesota 31 1 0-2 1-2 11 32
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Nashville. The Wild have a W/L % of .565 after a win and .643 after a loss.
  • Ottawa will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Senators have a W/L % of .526 after a win and .529 after a loss.