There was never going to be an easing-in for Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark. Not with the stakes being as high as they are. The 31-year-old netminder knew that going in.
“Just throw me into the fire, basically,” Ullmark said Monday morning before his team played against the Nashville Predators. “There’s no easy games coming down the stretch here. Not even before, not after. Every game matters and that’s what you want. You want to have those important games coming your way that makes you prepare for what’s to come.”
For a goalie who hadn’t played in 44 days due to a back injury, Ullmark played as well as he could have Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was activated off long-term injured reserve on Monday and got the second half of his team’s back-to-back. Defenceman Nick Jensen returned from injury, but the Senators were without injured centre Josh Norris and then Shane Pinto got hurt. Overall, Ullmark made 34 saves in a 4-3 loss against the Lightning, the first of a two-game series between the Atlantic Division rivals.
Despite the Senators’ five-game win streak ending, the Senators got a minor victory: Ullmark wasn’t the reason his team lost. He was arguably the biggest reason the Senators stood a chance after a slow start.
“Linus gave us some saves to keep us in it,” Senators head coach Travis Green said.
Until the Senators clinch a playoff spot, Ullmark’s health will be a primary source of concern for many in Sensland. Any time he cricks his back or winces, his health will immediately become a storyline. And unless he reconsiders, Ullmark might not rest much once he joins Sweden for the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal and Boston, which begins Feb. 12. He even spent part of last Wednesday’s practice breaking into his Team Sweden pants. But Ullmark says the tournament isn’t top of mind.
“I don’t care about the 4 Nations at the moment,” Ullmark said Monday. “For now, it’s just the Ottawa Senators. It’s always going to be the Ottawa Senators.”
Senators fans with long memories might hold their breath for about eight days, hoping there is no repeat of what happened to Dominik Hasek nearly 20 years ago. The Czechian legend who spent the 2005-06 season with the Senators injured his groin less than 10 minutes into his first game at the 2006 Olympics in Turin. Ottawa soldiered on without him but was bounced in the second round. Many believe that Senators team had what it took to go further. The then-future Hall of Famer rejoined the Detroit Red Wings the following offseason.
Excuse the expression here, but it’s all scar tissue.
This year’s Senators have risen above those previous fears. Think back to November when things looked bleak before Ullmark caught fire. He was the league’s hottest goalie, save for countryman Jacob Markstrom in December, after a below-standard start to his season. Ullmark was 5-7-1 in his first 14 games with a save percentage of .886 and just one shutout to his name before the nine-game stretch that saw him light the league ablaze with an 8-0-1 record and a .954 save percentage.
“He’s a big part of our team,” Senators forward Claude Giroux said. “Before he got hurt, he was playing some really good hockey for us. He was giving us a chance to win every game.
Ullmark’s injury could’ve seriously hurt the Senators. But they stayed afloat during Ullmark’s 19-game absence with rookie Leevi Meriläinen grabbing the lion’s share of starts alongside Anton Forsberg. The latter, who was also absent for a month with injury, has since won his last three consecutive starts. The Senators are the only NHL team with seven wins or more from three different goalies.
Sens goalies since Dec. 28
|
Player
|
Record
|
GAA
|
SV%
|
SO
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7-2-1 |
1.70 |
.938 |
3 |
|
|
4-3-1 |
2.67 |
.902 |
0 |
|
|
0-1-0 |
4.00 |
.826 |
0 |
“We’ve had good goaltending here for a while,” Green said. “There’s so much parity in the league now that you have to have average to above-average goaltending to win.”
“When you have three good goalies, it’s a good problem to have,” Giroux said.
Between Dec. 28 and Jan. 27, Ottawa was tied for dead last in goals scored (31) with New Jersey and Los Angeles with a dormant offence. But Ottawa has now scored five or more goals in three of their last four games. Giroux, Tim Stützle and Jake Sanderson are on six-game points streaks. Entering Tuesday night’s game, Ottawa had the fourth-best goals-allowed-per-game rate since Ullmark’s absence (2.32). The Senators were 11-6-2 in their 19 games without their No. 1 goalie.
“There’s a lot of things that we tried to achieve at the beginning of the season but we weren’t really doing,” Ullmark said. “And so, the last couple of weeks, obviously ever since pre-Christmas, we were doing a really good job in all three zones. It’s not just in the offensive zone. We’re taking care of the puck, we’re playing a lot more mature. We care for each other, we put down the work, we’ve (got) a lot of motivation, a lot of inspiration as well in every game.”
Ottawa is currently third in the Atlantic Division, trailing the Toronto Maple Leafs by four points and the division-leading Florida Panthers by five. The possibility of a Battle of Ontario in the opening round of the playoffs is very much alive. The Senators have shown they can play well without him, but Ullmark remains a crucial key for their success.
The Senators just need the version of Ullmark that propelled them in December instead of the version that struggled to find form in October and November. They will need him in February, March, April and beyond — as long as he’s healthy.
All statistics from Hockey Reference and NHL.com
(Photo of Linus Ullmark: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
