If the second save hadn’t happened, the Bruins might have marvelled at the first one instead.
With Islanders forwards racing into the Boston zone on a short-handed two-on-one, Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark first committed to Simon Holmstrom. The NHL’s leader in short-handed goals was coming through the right-wing circle with 5:28 left in the second period and had a clear look.
But when Holmstrom passed the puck, Ullmark shifted his entire 6-foot-4 frame across the goal mouth to get his right pad on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s one-timer. But the rebound caromed back to the middle where Holmstrom tried to reach and tap it into the recently open goal mouth. With his weight still on his right knee, Ullmark extended his left leg back across the crease in time to just kick the puck away.
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The Bruins were already down 2-0. If Ullmark was slower or shorter the Bruins would have been down 3-0. Had that happened, the deficit might have felt insurmountable. Instead the save, one of 33 Ullmark made, gave the entire team a jolt. It started a comeback that ended with Boston winning 5-4 in overtime.
“The game is probably over if they score there,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “Tremendous compete. Tremendous third effort on the puck. Besides his skillset and the way he stops pucks, that’s just competing for your team.”
Ullmark praised the Bruins’ trainers for keeping him limber enough to get into the split necessary to make that save.
“I’m going to have to do a hip surgery or a hip transplant,” he joked. “I’m very fortunate to work with these trainers. They’ve been helping me out throughout my time here in Boston. I try not to go every day into the split, but some days you have to.”
David Pastrnak, whose shootout goal sealed the Bruins’ 5-4 win pointed the praise toward the goalie.
“Obviously, an amazing job by Linus just to keep us in the game early on,” he said.
Ullmark made two critical saves late in regulation and stopped four shots in overtime. He was the only one who wasn’t impressed. He was frustrated by the two third-period goals he did allow.
“I wanted to keep it at two there in the third period and I wasn’t able to do that,” he said. “So it’s something to look over tomorrow and see what we can improve.”
Ullmark’s win comes on the heels of Jeremy Swayman’s tough-luck loss in overtime vs. New Jersey on Wednesday. Despite missing key players the Bruins earned three points from the two games.
“We probably don’t get any points if we didn’t have the goaltending we have,” Montgomery said. “That’s the honest truth. It’s a huge part of our team and we know that.”
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