Senators’ Linus Ullmark to make first start in more than a month
Linus Ullmark will make his first start in more than a month when the Ottawa Senators face the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
🥅: Linus Ullmark (OTT) ✅ will return and start vs. NJD on Saturday. 14-8-5 | 2.95 GAA | .880 SV% | 1 SO ✔️Stephen Halliday (upper-body) will return.
Ully’s got the net tonight!
Ullmark has been out of the lineup since late December after the team announced he would be taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. After rumors circulated online over why the 32-year-old netminder was away from the club, Ullmark sat down with TSN’s Claire Hanna and opened up about why he needed to take time for himself.
“The real reason is mental health,” Ullmark told Hanna during the 26-minute interview. “And there’s been a lot going on for a long time. I would say dating back to, ever since the trade, and a lot of things have been positive as well throughout the years or these times. But a lot of the things that I had gone through or worried about haven’t really been dealt with in the right way.”
In 28 games this season, Ullmark is 14-8-5 with an .881 save percentage (SV%), a -10.1 5v5 goals saved above expected (GSAx) and one shutout. In his last appearance, he was pulled after he gave up four goals on 14 shots in a 7-5 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 27.
The Senators acquired Ullmark in a trade with the Boston Bruins in June 2024, sending goaltender Jonas Korpisalo, veteran Mark Kastelic and the 2024 No. 25 overall pick (Dean Letourneau) the other way.
Now in his 11th NHL season, Ullmark, a native of Lugnvik, Sweden, has a 177-95-31 record with a .914 SV% in 319 career appearances with the Senators, Bruins and Buffalo Sabres.
While playing for the Bruins in 2022-23, Ullmark went 40-6-1 with a .938 SV% in 49 appearances. He earned the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender, as well as split the William M. Jennings Trophy with teammate Jeremy Swayman for allowing the fewest goals in the league.