The injuries keep piling up for the Ottawa Senators, and now they've been hit on the depth chart as well.
Standout goaltender Leevi Merilainen left Monday's start with the Belleville Senators, Ottawa's AHL affiliate, against the Cleveland Monsters after he appeared to be kicked in the head.
While there has been no official update from the team, The Athletic's Julian McKenzie reported that Merilainen stayed with the team and didn't leave the rink after he left the game.
The incident happened late in the first period as Monsters forward Jake Gaudet drove the net, tripped and seemed to accidentally kick the Senators' third-stringer in the head. Merilainen appeared injured right away and was later helped off the ice by Belleville's training staff. He was replaced in net by Malcom Subban.
A long-term injury to Merilainen would be yet another blow to the Senators, who are struggling with injuries to their big club which include Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris and Shane Pinto.
Merilainen was a major part of the Senators' resurgence back to playoff relevancy, filling in while starter Linus Ullmark recovered from an injury.
In his 12 games with the NHL Senators this season, Merilainen posted an 8-3 record with a staggering .925 save percentage and 1.99 goals-against average.
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