Senators’ Linus Ullmark to start vs. Lightning after 19-game absence

Ottawa Senators starting netminder Linus Ullmark will make his much-anticipated return to the crease Tuesday versus the Atlantic Division rival Tampa Bay Lightning.

Sidelined since late December due to a back injury, Ullmark returned to the lineup Monday, serving in a backup capacity as Anton Forsberg made a 25-save performance en route to a 5-2 road victory over the Nashville Predators.

In his first season with the Senators, Ullmark has shined with a 12-7-2 record alongside a .915 save percentage, 2.38 goals-against average, and three shutouts.

The Senators acquired Ullmark from the Boston Bruins in a June deal that saw the club part with its first-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft in addition to forward Mark Kastelic and former goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. In October, the Senators then inked Ullmark to a four-year extension that carries an $8.25-million annual average value. Ullmark’s new contract will begin in 2025-26.

Prior to joining the Senators, Ullmark spent three seasons with the Bruins, underscored by the 2022-23 campaign when he was presented with the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s Goaltender of the Year after he posted a 40-6-1 record coupled with a .938 save percentage, 1.89 goals-against average, and two shutouts.

Originally chosen by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round of the 2012 NHL Draft, Ullmark has made 270 total appearances counting stops with the Sabres, Bruins, and Senators in which he has earned a 150-80-25 career record with a .918 save percentage, 2.50 goals-against average, and 11 shutouts.

Ullmark rejoins a Senators squad that has climbed into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. Riding a five-game win streak, Ottawa sits third place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 29-20-4 and 62 points, only five points back of the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers for top spot. The Senators last qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2017.