Senators’ captain Brady Tkachuk called Linus Ullmark “Our MVP” and a “Rockstar” in Ottawa’s 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
Ullmark returned to the Senators’ crease for the first time since taking a leave absence for mental health reasons, December 28. The netminder saved 26 of 27 Devils shots, several in spectacular fashion. A highlight reel glove stop off Dougie Hamilton with the game tied at one and another glove snag on Nico Hischier off a 2-on-1 with seven minutes remaining and the Senators leading 2-1, were key plays in preserving the win.
It was an emotional night Ullmark and the 18,319 in attendence at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Prior to the game, the Senators organization played a Welcome Back video complete with fans who were dealing with or dealt with mental health issues of their own. And when the goaltender was announced in the his team’s starting lineup, once again fans reacted with a rousing ovation. Ullmark tapped his heart, acknowledging the crowd.
Tkachuk who notched one goal, one assist was happy to see Ullmark return, “I mean, he showed right away, if not first shift, first shot that he was going to be rock soild all night. That’s why he’s one of the best goalies in the league. And that was pretty amazing to see. To see the support for him, and see how much that we missed him out there. And yeah, that was great. It was a great experience. And it was fun to see.”
“I thought he was excellent, very focused, aggressive, if not his best game, one of the best games he’s played this year,” noted Senators head coach Travis Green.
“You know, it was hard the first day he left, quite honestly, and I think most importantly was that he came back when he was ready. I know I got asked to hear a lot about when, why? I think he knows, he’s got our support and it was just a matter of when he was ready to play. Feel like I’ve said it a lot, but we’ve got a lot of belief in him. He’s been a great goalie for years,” Green added.
For Ullmark, the Senators win, their third straight on home ice, it was the cherry on top of what was an emotional evening.
https://hockeyhotstove.com/category/bloggers/murray-pam
“What can I say? We won, we played well, made some timely saves, which makes things easier. Maybe if I go out there let in three goals in the first period, I wouldn’t be standing here, standing here being a little bit cheerful or that sort of thing?,” said the Senators goaltender postgame.
The 32-year-old compared his night to coming back from retirement, “I’ve said it before. I felt like I came out of retirement during practices because I didn’t have a real practice since beginning or just before Christmas. So it’s been a battle coming back, and the same thing happened now as well. I felt like I’ve been gone for so long that there was an excitement, there was nervousness, which I haven’t been in a long time, and that’s positive.”
Ullmark felt relief in displaying his emotions, something he may have clutched to his chest in the past, “I mean, at the end there, also during lineup, it was really hard holding it together, and I didn’t want to hold it together. Also, one of the things that I’ve been working on is not just letting the feelings flow a little bit. It’s nothing bad about that, in a way. So I was really happy with that.”
Linus Ullmark summed up the night, reflecting on his leave and appreciation for fans, teammates and the Ottawa Senators support during his time away.
“There’s a lot of things that we take for granted when it comes to hockey in general, and as players, you play 82 games in a short amount of time, so you don’t really have time to take a step back and think about what you’re actually doing. I had a moment to do that, and I’m really thankful for the support of the fans, warmups, the anthems and all that, and throughout the game as well. The biggest thing is that the support in this locker has been tremendous ever since Day One. And I can’t thank them enough this, this whole organization. I can’t thank them enough.“
Home › Forums › Ullmark A Rockstar In Sens Emotional Win
Tagged: nhl, Ottawa Senators