If he’s being honest, Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark probably would have preferred a tougher workload in his second preseason game. Ullmark and the Senators defeated the New Jersey Devils 2–0 on Sunday afternoon in Quebec City, and if you just looked at the scoreboard, you might assume Ullmark is already in mid-season form.

But you could almost place an asterisk beside this result. Ullmark faced only 14 shots from a Devils squad that, at a glance, barely met the league's preseason rule requiring a minimum of eight NHL veterans on the roster. Most of New Jersey’s opening-night roster was back home in Newark, playing the Capitals at the same time.

Still, Ullmark won’t ever complain about a shutout.

“I thought we did a pretty good job. Speaking about me, there are some things to clean up, but I’m not surprised that it’s like that as well. First (full) game of the season, you’re playing a team away, and here in Quebec as well. There were a lot of variables. But I’m always happy when I don’t have to look behind me and grab a puck and throw it up into the middle. And on top of that, you get a win.”

Ullmark admits it can be tough to stay sharp when he isn’t seeing much rubber, but he’s learned over the years how to handle it.

“Now I have a little bit easier time of relaxing when the play is not really in our zone. I’m better at dialling it in when things are actually coming my way. Because that’s something as well. You can’t just stand there and be on and on and on for 60 minutes. You have to find times to relax, breathe, and just kind of dial it in when it’s needed. And it’s easier when you get 30, 35 shots because you kind of constantly have a feel for it, you know all the pucks are.”

Halliday's Late Power Play Goal Leads Ottawa Senators Past Devils 2-0 The Ottawa Senators improved their preseason record to 2–1 on Sunday afternoon with a 2–0 victory over a New Jersey Devils split-squad at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City.

Ulmark admits that his training camp has been a struggle, but he also says, surprisingly, he enjoys the struggle.

“It’s not fun to be struggling in a way, but the satisfaction of understanding yourself and getting to know yourself, and also realizing, 'Oh, this is what I’m doing wrong now, and this is not how I was supposed to do it.' When that clicks, it’s so satisfying.

"And we had one of those days on Saturday where I was not happy really with the practice. I just stayed out there and we just kept shooting, shooting, shooting. And then all of a sudden a light bulb turned on and you start feeling good about it. You get a little bit more swagger into your game and I kind of brought it into (Sunday’s game) as well.”

It was a much different feeling than Ullmark’s first preseason appearance, when he allowed three goals on eight shots in a 4–3 loss to Toronto. The Senators dominated the Leafs in shots, 35–20, but, as in last spring’s playoffs, they couldn’t recover from an early 3-0 hole.

Ullmark, as he does with most things in his life, has kept all of it in perspective.

Shifting Goaltending Picture

Ottawa’s goaltending setup will look a little different this season. Last year, Ullmark split duties with Anton Forsberg. Both are Swedes, both are 32, and both battled injuries last season. That opened the door for 22-year-old Finn, Leevi Meriläinen, to step in and impress. Meriläinen went 8-3-1 with three shutouts, a 1.99 goals-against average, and a .925 save percentage.

While nothing has been made official, Meriläinen is expected to be the full-time backup after Forsberg departed in free agency to sign with the Los Angeles Kings.

Much has been made of Ullmark never playing more than 49 games in a season, but most number one NHL goalies, on average, play roughly 55 games, and no one played more than 63. So he's really not that far off the pace.

Would a platoon situation, or something close to it, provide the best-case scenario? Ullmark thrived in Boston in a three-year timeshare with Jeremy Swayman, winning the 2023 Vezina Trophy in the process. Could a similar partnership with another promising young goaltender bring out the best in him again? Possibly, but at the same time, with Ullmark's new pay grade, you'd like to think you could rely on him to be mostly studly for 55-60 games a season.

Ullmark had stretches of brilliance last season, winning seven games in a row in December and going 9-2-1 in March. But he also dealt with stretches of inconsistency, which may have been influenced by a few bouts with injury. He finished 25-14-3 with a .910 save percentage and 2.70 GAA. Now that he's Ottawa’s second-highest paid player, the expectations are higher than ever. 

If the Senators are going to take another step forward this season, they’ll need Ullmark to do the same.

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