Loss was Ullmark’s season in a nutshell
If Linus Ullmark needed a reminder that this season has a different script than the one written last season, when he starred as a puck-stopping protagonist who captured the Vezina Trophy, it was driven home Tuesday night. There’s unfortunate, and there’s injustice. Put Ullmark down for the latter in what could be his final start in goal as a Bruin.
It was an injustice on ice that another “L” landed next to Ullmark’s name after the Bruins snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Oilers at TD Garden. Ullmark was excellent. He stonewalled Connor McDavid and the goal-getter Oilers until they tied the score with 1:20 left on a chaotic crush in front of his cage. The slaughterhouse hockey goal was credited to Leon Draisaitl. Then with 2:42 left in threeon-three OT, McDavid danced around and fed an open Draisaitl, who blasted a beauty by Ullmark.
All of Ullmark’s work — and that of a dogged Bruins team — was undone by the type of top-end talent the Spoked-Bs are short on.
The loss felt symbolic of the Bruins’ standing despite their place in the standings as Friday’s NHL trade deadline creeps up — a lot of good work going for naught in the end. It was a reminder of how precarious, ephemeral, and fragile success can be in a game and a season.
With the deadline hovering over the Bruins like a term paper that needs to be turned in, they’re not just fighting for points, they’re fighting to force their front office’s hand to invest in them. They’re trying to help their cause by convincing general manager Don Sweeney they have
a legitimate chance at the Stanley Cup with some assistance.
However, having sold out for last year’s record-setting team, the Bruins are in no position to part with draft picks or prospects for this overachieving bridge-team bunch. That’s where Ullmark comes in. The Bruins have the luxury of two No. 1 goalies with Jeremy Swayman and Ullmark. Swayman, who is just 25, has emerged as the leading man this season. The 30-year-old Ullmark, signed through 2025, could be the carrot the Bruins dangle to get more firepower up front.
If he were dealt, Tuesday would turn out to be Ullmark’s last start as a Bruin, since it’s hard to imagine coach Jim Montgomery not going to Swayman for Thursday’s tilt with the Maple Leafs. Of course, it’s complicated. The backbone of the Bruins is their top-notch goalie tandem, and Ullmark wields a 16-team no-trade list.
If the Bruins are interested in fielding offers for Ullmark, this was an appealing showcase as he blanked the high-octane Oilers for 58:39. He was so close to handing Edmonton its third shutout loss of the season. Then it disappeared — as Ullmark said the puck did on the gametying scrum.
Instead of a shutout, he was saddled with his sixth straight loss. Unlucky Linus (16-7-7) hasn’t recorded a win since his Feb. 8 shutout of the Canucks.
“The feelings afterward feels more like a playoff game because it felt like we had it, and it slipped out of our hands in the final minute,” said Ullmark, who made 24 saves.
The Bridge Bruins are punching above their weight, credit to them. But you get the feeling they’re not genuine playoff heavyweights despite the impressive point total they’ve piled up with 18 games to go. The team hasn’t been the same since returning from the AllStar break. Fissures have become visible fault lines. They’ve ceded the top spot in the Atlantic Division to the Panthers.
If Sweeney is not moving roster players like Ullmark or the streaky Jake DeBrusk, he should execute a perfunctory punch card transaction rather than some all-in power move.
Ullmark tried to downplay the Bruins’ disquieting penchant for faltering at the finish line, blowing third-period leads. These same two teams played a 6-5 overtime barn-burner in Edmonton Feb. 21 with the Bruins prevailing after blowing leads of 4-1 and 5-4.
“It’s just about coincidences sometimes,” he said. “I don’t take too much to heart about that, but at the end of the day, maybe people think that’s our weakness. But we know what our weaknesses are, and it’s not just about that. It’s not as easy as just third periods.”
He talked about the team caring “about the big picture, about what’s to come.” The question is, what’s the picture Sweeney sees when he looks at this team and Ullmark?
Tuesday was a harsh lesson for Ullmark and the Bruins about the fickleness of fortune. Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Bruins bottled up the slick Oilers and still had to settle for their league-leading 15th overtime or shootout defeat and a single point instead of a pair.
The Mighty McDavid, who extended his point streak to 12 games, factored in both Edmonton goals.
Playing at an ungodly gear no one else possesses, the threetime Hart Trophy winner was worth the price of admission in his only visit to Boston.
In six previous games against Edmonton, Ullmark had allowed 17 goals. Tuesday was a polar opposite contest on that frozen front.
Two of the top eight teams in the NHL in goals per game (Edmonton entered third) put up matching goose eggs for 44-plus minutes. Pavel Zacha broke through at 4:26 of the third, picking up where he left off Monday in Toronto.
“I felt like we played a good game coming off a back-to-back against two of the best teams in the league, good offensively,” said Ullmark. “We shut them down for the most part. I’m proud of the fellas for doing that.”
Still, Ullmark is a long way from his gilded 2022-23 season. During that campaign for the ages, he became the fastest goalie in NHL history to 40 wins (49 games). He led the league in goals-against average (1.89) and save percentage (.938).
This year has been a different story. He’s 16-7-7 with a 2.77 GAA and a .910 save percentage.
That’s the tough thing about life. We don’t get to write our own endings.
If Tuesday ends up being Ullmark’s last game played in black and gold, it will be symbolic of a season that has taken a turn.