In a season where very little has gone right for them in goal, Ottawa Senators head coach Jacques Martin is opting to start his call-up netminder against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday because he feels his team "has a better chance of winning" by doing so.
Mads Sogaard, the 23-year-old Danish goalie, will make his season debut with the big club when the struggling Senators host Colorado, having been called up on Friday to replace the injured Anton Forsberg.
"When I looked at the analytics and I looked at the stats, (Joonas) Korpisalo's against Colorado, I feel we have a better chance of winning with the kid," said Martin after Tuesday's morning skate. "I don't think he's played against them, but he played last year, 18 games in the NHL, so I just feel that it'll give us a good opportunity. We'll see after the game for the next game."
Forsberg (.889) and Korpisalo (.884) are ranked 47th and 48th, respectively, in the NHL in save percentage, for goalies with at least 15 starts. Their goals-against averages — 3.35 and 3.70, respectively — put them in similar territory.
Korpisalo, for the record, is 4-3-0 in seven career starts (with Columbus, L.A. and Ottawa) against Colorado, though his .895 save percentage and 3.58 GAA in those games are probably the stats catching Martin's eye. Or perhaps it was the five goals the Finn gave up on 38 shots against the Avs in a 6-4 loss last month.
With Forsberg on long-term injured reserve with a groin injury, Martin is opting to roll the dice with Søgaard, who has posted a .920 save percentage and 2.48 GAA with the AHL's Belleville Sens, to go with an 8-5-2 record.
Søgaard went 8-6-3 last season in a 19-game stint in Ottawa, posting a .889 save percentage and 3.32 GAA. He was drafted 37th overall by the club in 2019.
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