BOSTON — Linus Ullmark accomplished a lot over the course of his three years with the Boston Bruins. But even a 40-win season and a Vezina Trophy wasn’t the Ottawa Senators goalie’s end goal.
“I wouldn’t say we accomplished anything,” Ullmark said after the Senators’ 3-2 overtime win over the Bruins on Saturday night. “We didn’t win, and that’s always gonna bother me. I really thought we had opportunities to do it. So, I’m gonna bring with me those feelings, thoughts (and) emotions into this locker room and strive to become better and learn from my mistakes.”
Boston reached the playoffs in each of Ullmark’s three seasons, but never reached the ultimate goal. He appeared in just one playoff game last year after Jeremy Swayman emerged as the Bruins’ No. 1 goalie.
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Ullmark was traded to the Senators in June and made his return to TD Garden as a member of the Ottawa Senators.
In eight games this season, the goalie is 3-4-0 with a 2.87 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage. And while he’s gotten off to a bit of a slow start with his new team, Ullmark believes he’s made improvements as a goalie from his time in Boston to Ottawa thanks to strong leaders.
“In my mind, I see myself as a lot better goaltender, to be quite frank,” he said. “Something that I’ve learned throughout the ways with the type of leadership we have throughout this organization is how to handle yourself as a professional, but also as a human being. So, I carry that with me.”
The Senators have used 17 starting goalies since their last Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance in 2017 and could be a key factor in helping Ottawa get back to the postseason. Ullmark called Saturday’s victory against his former team a “statement” win, and he played a big role in helping the Senators to victory with a tremendous save on Elias Lindholm in overtime that ultimately led to Brady Tkachuk scoring the game-winner.
Ullmark has received high praise from his teammates — especially after Saturday’s win to snap a two-game losing streak — and Saturday’s victory could go a long way in Ullmark building more confidence and helping Ottawa go on a bit of a run.
