OTTAWA — When the chips are down, even your No. 1 goalie needs a little help.
Linus Ullmark was sprawling on the ice, desperately looking to keep his team ahead in a do-or-die Game 4 Saturday night. With Max Pacioretty at the doorstep, Ullmark lifted his glove, hoping to get a piece of the oncoming shot. He did. But the true man of the moment was Tyler Kleven, who batted the puck out of mid-air, saving a sure goal.
Game 4 featured a handful of solid performances in Ottawa’s 4-3 overtime victory over the Maple Leafs. For the first time in the series, the Sens scored more than two goals in a game. Forwards Tim Stützle and Shane Pinto, who were called on to be strong defensively, answered the call for offence, as did David Perron and Jake Sanderson. Even Kleven, the Sens’ third-pairing defenceman who bailed out Ullmark, drew rave reviews for his play.
“His game is really growing and it’s taken off probably since Christmas,” Sens head coach Travis Green said.
But Ullmark’s performance was lost in the shuffle. His 31 saves led to his first playoff win in more than two years. It was also the first time Ullmark posted a save percentage above .900 in a game all series long (.912), and since last spring when he played against the Leafs as a member of the Boston Bruins. But we’re not here to talk about the Bruins. We’re here to talk about how Ullmark finally got the better of Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz, and how that helped keep Ottawa alive.
But if the Senators want to complete their audacious comeback after being down three games to none, Ullmark will have to replicate and improve upon his Game 4 performance.
“I thought Linus really showed what he was all about (Saturday) night,” Green said. “There’s been a lot of talk about him in this series. A lot of doubters, even in this room. Man, he looked like a guy that has won a Vezina, and (that you) can win with, and the pressure was not a big deal for him. And he stood very tall for us.”
“We have all the confidence in the world in him,” Stützle told reporters. “I know some of you guys weren’t too happy with the way he played. But we have all the confidence in him. It’s not just the goalie, it’s all the players in front of him. He won the Vezina. He’s really calm. We’re lucky to have him. I think he played a great game again (Saturday night).”
I’m not sure if the Senators have hammered home the point yet, but Ullmark’s teammates and head coach will never, ever let us forget that their No. 1 goalie has a Vezina Trophy to his name. But there’s a reason why Ullmark’s statistics have come under fire. Simply put, they’re not quite Vezina-worthy.
Through four games, Ullmark has the lone win with a 3.44 goals-against average and an .848 save percentage. Ullmark’s goals saved above average rate at five-on-five (-3.44 entering Sunday’s games) is the third-worst among goalies who’ve played at least 100 minutes this postseason. His high-danger save percentage (.636) at five-on-five is the third-worst, while his high-danger goals saved above average is fourth-worst.
There have been some small, yet tangible improvements throughout the series, starting from the low point. Ullmark and the Sens got burned in Game 1 thanks to the Maple Leafs’ power play; he ended the game with a .750 save percentage. He said having the mind of a “goldfish” would help him move on. He looked slightly better in Games 2 and 3 with .857 and .850 save percentages, respectively, allowing three goals in each. In Game 2, Ullmark could’ve benefited from tighter defence on Morgan Rielly at his net before an unfortunate bounce off Nick Jensen led to another goal allowed.
During Game 3, Ullmark withstood a flurry of chances in the dying moments of the second period to keep the game tied at one goal apiece. But in the third, Auston Matthews caught him looking the wrong way before scoring and Simon Benoit scored in overtime through traffic — a goal Ullmark never saw.
And then there’s Game 4 — Ullmark’s best game so far, inspiring hope he can return to form. Ullmark recorded the most high-danger saves he’s made in a game this series (6), recorded his lowest single-game goals-against average (2.33) and made 31 saves — the most he’s made in a game all series. Ullmark is 3-1 in playoff games where he’s made 31 saves or more through his playoff career and was 10-3-2 in games this past regular season where he made 30 saves or more.
“I think the first game, I think he openly admitted it, that it probably wasn’t his sharpest game,” Green said. “You look at the next bodies of work, it’s been pretty good. He’s made some big saves when he’s had to.
“I know his save percentage doesn’t look as flattering. But I’d be a lot more concerned if there was a lot of leaky goals.”
Stützle has a point when he says it’s not just the goalie but also the players in front of him. The Sens have struggled with putting severe dents through the Maple Leafs’ defence, with two goals scored in each of their first three games. Stützle himself only scored his first of the series in Game 4. If the Sens want to remain alive, they need his work at both ends of the ice.
Brady Tkachuk is tied for the current lead in points (3) with Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson. Toronto has four players who’ve put up more than three points in the entire series. The Sens may be driving play more at five-on-five, but the Leafs have been far more clinical offensively, to the detriment of Ullmark. The Sens’ shot totals were also suppressed in Game 4 — they had four shots in the final two regulation periods.
Ullmark won’t be relied upon to score in Game 5, of course. But he will need to hold the team up, especially if the Leafs hold the Senators without a shot for long stretches.
What’s for sure is that the Sens will continue to have their netminder’s back.
“He’s been the backbone of our team,” Sanderson said. “We count on him every single night to bring it and he does.”
All advanced stats according to Natural Stat Trick
(Top photo: André Ringuette / NHLI via Getty Images)