The Ottawa Senators have clawed their way back into the Stanley Cup playoff picture, and one of the keys to Ottawa's resurgence is their improved goaltending from Linus Ullmark and James Reimer.
The Ottawa Senators have been making a sustained push for a Stanley Cup playoff spot, and a goaltending turnaround has helped them.
The Sens climbed into the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot briefly before losing 4-3 in a shootout to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. They're now just one point behind the New York Islanders for the second wild-card spot with a game in hand.
And if they continue to build on the momentum of their 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games, they could try to catch the Montreal Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division, although they're four points ahead with a game in hand.
There's no guarantee the Senators will be a post-season team, but it's undeniable that one of the key reasons Ottawa has clawed its way back into the playoff conversation is that its goaltending isn't the massive issue it was for the first half of the season.
Before taking a leave of absence to take care of his mental health in late December, No. 1 goalie Linus Ullmark had a .884 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against average in 27 games. He went 14-8-5 in that span.
Since his return on Jan. 31, he's improved and is now doing enough to help the team win games more consistently. He has a .905 SP and 2.35 GAA with a shutout and a 9-2-3 record in that span.
Ullmark is finding ways to win on the regular. And that's what Ottawa has been hoping for since they acquired him in 2024. His season save percentage is still a regrettable .889 in 42 appearances, but his play has clearly improved.
The Senators don't need him to win another Vezina Trophy as the league's best netminder. They just need him to stop what he's expected to stop, because the team's allowing the second-fewest shots against and high-danger chances against in the NHL, according to naturalstattrick.com.
The squad also signed veteran James Reimer, 38, in mid-January to take over for 23-year-old backup Leevi Merilainen, who needed more seasoning in the AHL.
In his past six games, Reimer has gone 5-1-0, and in three of those games, he had an SP of .900 or better.
Like Ullmark, Reimer's season SP isn't great at .884 SP, but his 2.32 GAA is sparkling. His NHL days are coming to an end, but he's still showing a great fighting spirit and taking some of the pressure off of Ullmark to do all the heavy-lifting by himself.
The Sens' defense and goaltending will continue to be tested by the injury to star blueliner Thomas Chabot. Call-ups Carter Yakemchuk and Jorian Donovan have done a respectable job in their first two NHL games, but this is really where Ottawa needs to get solid netminding.
If the Senators collapse in their final 10 games and they fail to get into the playoffs, few Sens fans will be charitable to anyone on the team, the goalies included.
But so long as Ullmark and Reimer can keep the team in games, like they have for the past month-plus, the Senators have the chance to build on their performance last season and win a playoff round or two.
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