OTTAWA — There was every reason for the Ottawa Senators to ride the hot hand in goal and start Linus Ullmark again on a Saturday night. It would’ve meant playing him for a second consecutive night, but some sound arguments could be made. Instead, the Senators were supposed to give him the night off. Those plans changed minutes before the team took to the ice for pregame warmup.
Anton Forsberg was supposed to start against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Canadian Tire Centre. But he suffered a “minor injury” during his pregame stretch and was no longer an option. Per Senators head coach Travis Green, the Senators may have to call on a goalie from the AHL (likely Leevi Merilainen) for reinforcement with Forsberg injured.
Instead, it was Ullmark who led his teammates out for the pregame skate with no other goalie behind him. The Senators’ emergency goaltender was Zach Dietz, a University of Ottawa backup, but he wasn’t on the ice for warmup. Dietz was at the game with his girlfriend and was wearing a No. 9 Josh Norris jersey before he was called into service. But instead of sitting on the bench, he sat in a dressing room alone waiting for his number to be called if need be.
It could have been a recipe for disaster.
And then halfway through the first period, Ullmark made a save-of-the-year candidate on Erik Karlsson.
LINUS 👏 ULLMARK 👏 IS 👏 NOT 👏 HERE 👏 TO 👏 MESS 👏 AROUND 👏#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/mIgbTVPHQL
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) December 15, 2024
After Penguins forward Michael Bunting backhanded a shot off Ullmark’s pad, former Senator Karlsson tried to bury the puck into an open cage. Ullmark’s stick, however, stymied his fellow countryman and maintained his clean sheet.
“It was insane,” defenceman Thomas Chabot said. “I thanked him actually.
“I misread the play. Like we always say, he kind of saved my ass. I thanked him after.”
Ullmark made 25 saves in a 3-2 overtime win over the Penguins, none more heroic than that stick save. All that after knowing that he’d be playing moments before warmup.
“You just go with it,” Ullmark said.
“Hakuna matata.”
The Swedish netminder has played a massive role in the Senators’ recent resurgence. Ottawa has seven wins in its last 10 games and is on a season-long three-game win streak. Since the Senators’ Nov. 25 win over the Calgary Flames, Ullmark is 6-0-1 with a .950 save percentage, a 1.55 goals-against average and a shutout. And there might not be a hotter goalie in the NHL since that date. Ullmark has even bested Winnipeg Jets goalie and Vezina front-runner Connor Hellebuyck who is either leading or near the top of important goalie statistical categories this season.
Records since Nov. 25
|
Player
|
GP
|
Record
|
GAA
|
SV%
|
SO
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7 |
6-0-1 |
1.55 |
.950 |
1 |
|
|
9 |
5-3-1 |
2.10 |
.929 |
0 |
The Senators can firmly trust their No. 1 goaltender because he looks like the No. 1 goaltender they need him to be. And as he plays well, the team does, too.
“It’s a big part of it,” Green said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the league at a point where goaltending is a big part of winning and losing. There’s a lot of parity in the league. From night to night, any team can win. You go (through) teams near the bottom of the standings to the top, there’s parity. Goaltending is a tough position. There’s a lot of pressure on goalies. This season, I feel like, the position is magnified.”
“He’s been awesome,” Brady Tkachuk said. “Just so much fun to be able to play in front of him. He’s made those big saves at the right times. Just such a calming presence back there and confident.”
Ullmark’s stick save on Karlsson will go down as his best from Saturday night. His second-period blocker save on Sidney Crosby serves as a more-than-worthy honourable mention. It even brought fans to their feet, applauding the goaltender for keeping them ahead. A 180-degree turn from one month prior when Ullmark played his worst game as a Senator, allowing five goals including an overtime winner — a Matvei Michkov shot from the goal line — against the Philadelphia Flyers.
It was the beginning of the Senators’ worst stretch of the season, a five-game slide that had them near the bottom of the league standings, prolonged their November blues and had fans anticipating another early end to their year.
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Senators’ Linus Ullmark ‘not his best’ in OT loss to Flyers
Now, the Senators are tied in points with Philadelphia for a wild-card playoff spot.
“I think we always knew we had it in us,” Ullmark said. “It’s nice to have a three-game win streak. You’ve got to keep building off of it. You’ve got to keep winning these games on this road trip as well and not just take for granted that it’s going to come easy. Because once you actually do put up a lot of points and you rise in the standings, people are going to notice you. There’s going to be a lot more focus on you.”
“We haven’t really changed anything to our game,” Chabot said. “Everybody’s rolling really good and it’s great to see. But we’re playing the same hockey game that we’ve been playing all year. Whenever you’re going to stick to it, you’re going to get the result you want. And that’s what we’re getting right now.”
Ullmark returning to form, and the Senators’ rising confidence, bodes well as the team embarks on a season-long, nine-game road trip starting Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken. It will be broken up by the Christmas break at the end of the month, but there are some quality opponents over that stretch. Depending on the Senators’ performance, it could make or break their season. The Senators won’t play at home until Jan. 9 against the Buffalo Sabres.
Senators’ road trip schedule
What will help them overcome arguably the most challenging part of their season will be their goaltending. It helps that their No. 1 netminder is playing at his absolute best.
(Photo: André Ringuette / NHLI via Getty Images)
