Linus Ullmark shows how he can be difference maker in Senators debut

OTTAWA — Ottawa Senators fans have been dreaming of watching Linus Ullmark play spectacularly in front of them at Canadian Tire Centre since the goalie was acquired from the Boston Bruins in June.

Ullmark did not disappoint starting in his first game as an Ottawa Senator on Thursday night, turning aside 28 of 29 shots. He endured a poor defensive structure in front of him in the first period, when the Sabres bombarded Ottawa’s crease with 24 shots. In recent seasons, the Senators would have been buried by such an awful opening frame, but Ullmark showed why the team wanted him by putting on a clinic and stopping all four high-danger shots he faced in the first (per Natural Stat Trick). The only shot to slip past him was a bad angle attempt from Josh Dunne late in the period.

“He was great, to say the least,” said coach Travis Green.

There were plenty of highlights from Ullmark in his pre-season debut before he was replaced by Dustin Tokarski in the middle of the second period. One that particularly stood out was a sprawling effort to kick out his left leg and turn aside a Mason Jobst opportunity that seemed destined to go in.   

Ullmark was also terrific on the penalty kill, making two saves in tight before snapping a beautiful glove save off a shot from the point late in the first.

Last season, the Senators gave up a goal on the first or second shot against in a shocking 21 of their 82 games. Playing from behind, the Senators exposed themselves defensively even more, and the goaltenders often unravelled.

The Senators hardly played a great defensive game in Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Buffalo, giving up 41 shots to their 16, though the majority of the chances they allowed came in the first period and the lineup they iced was far from the one we’ll see opening night. Ottawa only lost in overtime when Noah Ostlund slapped the puck past Tokarski, who allowed two goals on 12 shots in his half of the game.

Despite the loss, the takeaway from this game is a largely positive one: Ullmark looked like the difference-making goalie the Senators need him to be. Even with the lacklustre early defensive effort, Ottawa never trailed.

That difference is in the numbers. Ullmark had the NHL’s seventh-best goals saved above expected last season at 14.8, per MoneyPuck. Meantime Joonas Korpisalo, Ottawa’s starter last season, had the second-worst GSAE at minus-16.2, which translates to a 31-goal difference between the two.

Had the Senators given up 31 fewer goals last season, they would have squeaked into the top half of the league in goals against – just ahead of wild card Washington -- and might have been pushing for the playoffs.

Ullmark’s first impression in Ottawa was that he could be that X-Factor who pushes them forward in 2024-25.

Other observations:

• Speed kills in the NHL and Noah Gregor, the 26-year old left-winger, has a ton of it. Gregor was signed as an unrestricted free agent in the off-season and , as GM Steve Staios describes it, brings a “unique skillset.”

Gregor’s speed was demonstrated in the first period, when he picked up the puck at his own blueline to race ahead and single-handedly earn a 2-on-1 that led to a beautiful goal in the first period. Gregor had other moments, too, later showcasing his hand skills by evading multiple Buffalo players and finding himself all alone in front of the net for another opportunity, though he couldn’t outlast Sabres goaltender Felix Sandstrom.

Gregor is showing he’s not a one-dimensional player. He fills lanes, doesn’t cheat on the defensive end, has good hands and a solid shot. He’s also an effective penalty killer and has some bite to his game, throwing his body around and finishing his checks.

The journeyman said he isn’t taking his role on this team for granted.

“I’ve still got to make a good first impression. It's a new staff, new organization, so I’m just trying to show what I can bring to the team, and then let the lineup play out as it comes,” he said.

He’s made one heck of an impression so far. Gregor looks likely to make the roster this season as a fourth-liner who could conceivably move up the lineup.

• Carter Yakemchuk continued to show his excellence, as the high-flying defenceman drafted seventh overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2024 has come out of the pre-season gates flying. Despite saying he was a little nervous earlier in games, he is looking more confident and was once again a standout on Thursday night, after his breakout performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday that was capped off with a dazzling overtime-winning goal.  

On Thursday Yakemchuk flashed again. In the first period he showed poise defending in transition by making a clean stick-check at his own blueline that lead to Gregor’s 2-on-1 the winger scored on, and earned the defenceman an assist. Yakemchuk earned his second assist of the night on the power play after walking the puck past two Sabres defenders and finding Tyler Boucher in front, leading to Adam Gaudette’s goal.

“Definitely when I get going, I start taking a little bit more risk and start making more plays,” Yakemchuk said.

Some of those risky plays led to turnovers, but that’s part of his developing game.

• Cole Reinhardt, Ottawa’s sixth-round pick in 2020, may not make this team directly out of camp, but his efforts are being noticed and could put him in line for a future call-up. “That’s a great example of a guy trying to show what he’s made of, trying to make the team, maybe getting outside his comfort zone a bit in certain areas,” said Green. “He’s a strong skater and a strong person, you can see it the way he’s built.”