Senators could be in trouble if Linus Ullmark is out long-term
It’s an all-too-familiar sight in the nation’s capital, and now the Ottawa Senators are dealing with a relatively dire situation between the pipes.
Once again, No. 1 goaltender Linus Ullmark has gone down with an injury. This time, it happened after an attempted save on Wednesday night against the Florida Panthers. The Swedish netminder was hurt enough that he needed to be helped off the ice by teammates and training staff. To make matters worse, the Senators placed Ullmark on injured reserve, meaning he’s going to be out for at least a week, if not more.
It’s a huge loss for Ottawa, as Ullmark has been exceptional in the early going, leading to the Sens’ impressive start. Now, the team will have to navigate the next little while with Samuel Ersson, who has struggled in his few appearances.
On Thursday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton look at the Senators’ chances with Ullmark on the shelf.
Tyler Yaremchuk: What’s really concerning, though, even as you say, ‘Oh, could it be a couple of weeks?’ I shudder a little bit because Sam Ersson’s been bad. Like, a .945 [save percentage] to an .831 is crazy.
Carter Hutton: That’s the biggest concern, too. How do you manage this? Where it felt like this Ersson pickup was one of these ones that was, ‘Hey, we’re gonna try to spot him starts because we have Linus, because we have him going.’ He’s been unbelievable, one of the best goalies in the NHL so far this year, and then you have Samuel Ersson. So, now you’re going to have to turn to him right away. I think the pressure is…part of it. There’s going to be times where he’s going to be counted on. I think the Sens as a group have played better than just their goaltending. They have been very good, very deep, but over a substantial amount of time – we look at last year. Leevi Merilainen wasn’t good enough to carry the mail when Ullmark was out. Now, Sam Ersson is going to have that job right now.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…
