Goaltender Leevi Merilainen said he is determined to make the most of his chance with the Vancouver Canucks after starting for the first time in months in a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames.
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Vancouver goaltender Leevi Merilainen is looking to make the most of the opportunity the Canucks have given him after earning his first start as a Canuck on Saturday.
The 24-year-old from Oulu, Finland, was claimed off waivers late last month by Vancouver from the Ottawa Senators. In his first start, Merilainen made 23 saves in a 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.
“It felt good to get the win,” Merilainen said. “It was sort of weird playing for the first time for a long time.”
Merilainen was praised by his teammates and by head coach Manny Malhotra. Malhotra highlighted his performance late in the second period when the Canucks were trailing 1-0, after Merilainen stopped Flames defenceman Zayne Parekh on a Calgary 3-on-1.
“He did a fantastic job,” Malhotra said. “He looked really poised and calm in net. When a goalie plays calm like that, it bleeds into the play of the 5-on-5 in front of him. He made some huge stops. That (3-on-1) could change the momentum of the game. He did a fantastic job coming in for his first game and make the stops he needed to make.”
Vancouver trailed 1-0 after the first period, then scored four times in the third to reach the win and improve to 2-1-0. Liam Ohgren scored one goal and assisted on Elias Pettersson’s winner, while Drew O’Connor and Aatu Raty also scored. Tom Willander and Linus Karlsson each had two assists.
For Calgary, Matt Coronato scored on the power play. Devin Cooley made 23 saves for the Flames.
Merilainen also had a brief game in Vancouver before Saturday’s start, appearing in the Canucks’ 9-7 loss to Edmonton on Thursday night after replacing Kevin Lankinen midway through the second period. He allowed one goal on 11 shots.
Merilainen said getting that taste of action made him hungry to start. “I was pretty confident,” he said. “The Oilers game went OK, and I had a good summer.”
The trade-related move was also a change in routine for Merilainen. “When it happened it was a little weird,” he said about moving across the country. “Being like four years with one organization, and all of a sudden you come over here and have a fresh start. For sure it’s exciting.”
He added that the opportunity is important to him. “It’s a new opportunity, knowing it’s a team that wants me here.”
Before coming to Vancouver, the Senators drafted Merilainen in the third round, 71st overall, in 2020. In 2024-25, he played 12 NHL games, posting an 8-3-1 record with a 1.99 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage and three shutouts. Over 20 games last season, he was 8-10-1 with a 3.51 GAA and .860 save percentage.
With other goaltenders in the Senators system, Ottawa decided Merilainen was expendable, which led to him joining Vancouver.
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