OTTAWA — Linus Ullmark couldn’t have made a better first impression.
The Senators new goaltender, fresh off signing a four-year extension earlier this week, was instrumental in Ottawa's season opening 3-1 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Thursday.
Ullmark made 30 saves in his Ottawa debut in front of a sold-out Canadian Tire Centre that was chanting his name midway through the third period.
After a disastrous string of failed goaltender signings in the past, the Senators (1-0-0) are counting on Ullmark to provide the highly-sought after stability that has eluded the organization the past four years.
Ottawa gave its goaltender some early support jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first period off a power-play goal by Tim Stutzle and an impressive effort by Shane Pinto, who beat Sergei Bobrovsky with a laser to the top corner. Stutzle also added an empty-net goal to secure the win.
Bobrovsky made 28 saves, while Gustav Forsling was the lone Panther (1-1-0) to beat Ullmark.
Forsling benefited from a screen to get his point shot past Ullmark in the second period.
Trailing 2-1 to start the third, the Panthers pressed hard in the third and had the Senators pinned for nearly two minutes, but Ullmark made key saves on Mackie Samoskevich and Carter Verhaeghe, which had the crowd chanting Ullmark’s name.
“There's a reason why they've been so successful, because they come in waves, and they keep grinding away,” said Ullmark. “They don't get frustrated, even if they're down. So, it's a special win, definitely.”
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice didn’t like his team’s start but liked the way they pushed back after the first period.
“They played hard,” said Maurice. “They were quick. I’ll just leave it at that.
"They played real hard tonight and they deserved a win. I did like the way we built the game."
Ullmark seems to have the Panthers figured out, having won nine of his last 10 starts against them.
While he doesn’t prepare any differently for a game against Florida, there’s definitely a sense of satisfaction beating them.
“I wouldn't say there's bad blood, but obviously they've beaten me twice in the playoffs, so I enjoy playing them, said Ullmark. "Just because of the reason that they're so good, and there's a lot of fun playing the very best of the teams in the league, and there's an opportunity for you to rise to the occasion and really test what you've been working on.
"Once you actually get the wins, that makes it a little bit more sweeter."
Ullmark said he’s not a big fan of games that mess with his routine and this being the home opener had additional fanfare which delayed the start, but the 31-year-old was appreciative of the warm welcome.
“It was awesome,” he said. “I had some, not just one or two, but a lot of goosebumps.”
Thursday’s game also marked Travis Green’s debut behind the Senators bench and for the most part he liked what he saw, especially from his goaltender.
“He looked exactly like he has from Day 1: confident, calm," said Green. "When you get to these types of games when the other team’s pushing hard, there’s usually a couple of moments when your goalie’s going to have to make a save, and he came up in spades.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press
