It was nothing short of a frustrating loss for the Ottawa Senators earlier this week, as the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks scored a whopping seven goals against them as part of a 7-3 blowout victory in the Windy City.
Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark was victimized for six goals on just 19 shots against; Chicago's seventh goal was scored with him on the bench for an extra attacker as a last-ditch effort by Ottawa to try and get back into the contest late in regulation.
Following the game, Ullmark voiced his frustration and even said that there was immaturity on his club's part during the blowout loss.
“There was a little bit of immaturity today,” Ullmark said via The Ottawa Citizen. “It’s not easy winning in this league. You can’t go out there putting up seven two nights in a row and then expect to do it a third time.
“It has to come, especially in back-to-backs, there is a skill to playing in back-to-backs. It’s really tough, especially when you travel as well. And there are a lot of things today, I think that we could have done better. We just have to look at ourselves in the mirror and come to terms with what we did learn from it and move on.”
The Senators then responded with a better score on Thursday evening, picking up two points with a 4-3 shootout win over the Calgary Flames. Afterward, Ullmark walked back his comments from the Chicago loss, saying he was frustrated with how the game went.
“I came out a little hot after the last game, and said some things I regretted afterwards,” he said via Bruce Garrioch on X. “I got to eat them up today because I felt we played a mature game today.”
The Senators Made Linus Ullmark Their Starter
The Senators, who returned to the postseason in 2024-25 for the first time since their run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017, acquired Ullmark in a trade with the Boston Bruins and promptly signed him to a four-year, $33 million extension.
His $8.25 million cap hit is tied for the seventh-highest among NHL goaltenders.
So far this season, his second with the Senators, Ullmark has amassed a 5-4-1 record with a 3.36 goals-against average and a .863 save percentage. He has yet to post a shutout.
