3 most impressive Ottawa Senators players from 3-1 win over Minnesota Wild feat. Leevi Merilainen 

The Ottawa Senators had their season-high six-game winning streak finally broken by the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 22 and followed that up with a 4-2 setback against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.

Having suddenly lost two straight, Sunday night's game against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul allowed them to get back on the winning track.

They did just that, securing a 3-1 victory to improve their record to 19-15-2, while the Wild dropped to 22-11-4.

The scoring was opened by Minnesota's Declan Chisholm, who notched his second goal of the season. Both teams entered their respective dressing rooms after 20 minutes of play with the Wild leading 1-0.

In the second period, the Senators tied the score just 1:47 after the opening face-off, as Ridly Greig scored his fifth goal.

Both teams remained deadlocked at 1-1 until just past the midway point of the third period when Josh Norris scored a power play goal to give the Senators their first lead of the night.

With goaltender Filip Gustavsson pulled for the extra attacker, the Wild were unable to cash in; Claude Giroux, who is playing in the final year of his contract, scored his ninth goal by hitting the vacated net.

Gustavsson's 34-save effort went for naught, while Leevi Merilainen stopped all but one of the 31 shots fired his way.

3 Ottawa Senators players who impressed in 3-1 win over Minnesota Wild

#1. Leevi Merilainen

Summoned from the minors thanks to the injury to starter Linus Ullmark, Merilainen has now won his second career NHL game and was the main contributor to Ottawa's victory over the Wild.

The No. 71 overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft, Merilainen was given the start over Mads Sogaard, who didn't have his best performance against the Jets earlier in the week.

“[He was] solid,” Senators coach Travis Green said of Merilainen via OttawaCitizen.com. “I liked his game. He looked in control, he looked composed. Anytime you win on the road against a team like this, you’re going to have to make some saves down the stretch.”

#2. Josh Norris

Emerging as one of the heart and soul leaders of the Senators, Norris came through for his club in a huge way with his tie-breaking goal in the third period, giving him a total of 14 on the season.

He's playing in the third year of an eight-year, $63.6 million deal given to him by Senators management in 2022, and he's proving to be well worth the investment.

#3. Ridly Greig

It was Greig who scored his second goal in as many games for the Senators, tying the game at 1-1.

He's now up to five goals on the season, meaning there's still plenty of time for him to try and attempt to equal last season's career-high of 13 goals.

The Ottawa Senators face the Dallas Stars next at American Airlines Center on Thursday.