Senators’ Ullmark says he ‘felt like myself again’ during strong playoff performance
You truly never know what will happen in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Coming into their first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Ottawa Senators were seen as a dangerous wild card team playing some of their best hockey heading into the postseason, and a real threat to push and possibly upset the top-seeded Hurricanes. The Senators’ only question mark was in goal, where starter Linus Ullmark had had an inconsistent season that saw him in and out of the lineup, partially due to self-acknowledged mental health struggles.
As it turned out, Ullmark was the least of the Senators’ problems during the four-games sweep they suffered at the hands of Carolina. The 32-year-old veteran posted a .932 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average over series’ four games, taking the loss in each one due largely to Ottawa’s offensive ineptitude, as his team scored just five total goals in the series.
During Ullmark’s final media availability on Monday, he talked about getting back to his old, confident self during the Senators’ abbreviated playoff run.
“The playoffs were the first time I felt like myself again,” Ullmark noted. “It didn’t feel like a chore.”
Ullmark also touched on the irony of Ottawa winning in the regular season despite his shaky play, and then losing in the postseason despite his strong play.
“I was joking around and thinking that I probably should stay sub-.900 because we were winning games at that point. Everybody was complaining about the goaltending here and there and complaining about that (earlier in the season) but we were winning games, and I would rather be sub .900 in save percentage and winning hockey games.”
Ullmark: The playoffs were the first time this season where I felt like myself #Sens post.futurimedia.com/cfgoam/playlis…
The Swedish national just completed the first season of a four-year, $33 million contract with the Senators, in which he put up a .891 SV% and a 2.73 GAA in 49 regular season starts.