Ottawa Senators’ Leevi Meriläinen made headlines over the weekend in an unfortunate way after the team’s star defenseman Jake Sanderson criticized the Finnish goaltender harshly following a poor performance against the Montreal Canadiens.

Sanderson criticized Meriläinen’s performance after the 5-6 loss, stating that the goaltender should have made over 10 saves to give the team a chance to win.

Now the 23-year-old star defenseman has retracted his controversial words. According to Sanderson, it was an overreaction that should not have happened.

– I am quite embarrassed. In situations like that, you should take a few minutes to breathe. And take a few deep breaths, Sanderson apologized in an interview with reporter Julian McKenzie.

Meriläinen’s season in the NHL has been difficult. The 23-year-old Finn’s statistics in 20 games are poor at 3.51 and 86.0%.

Meriläinen was sent back to the AHL during the Senators’ ongoing road trip. In his place, AHL powerhouse Hunter Shepard was called up.

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