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The Vegas Golden Knights scored three goals in a span of 1:25 late in the third period to stun the Ottawa Senators at T-Mobile Arena on Friday night — and Sens netminder Linus Ullmark admitted he could have been better.
“If [we] had a capable goalie in there today, [we] would have won 4-3, I would say,” the Swede told reporters after the 6-4 loss on the road. “It was way too sloppy (for) this league.”
The veteran continued: “This is the type of game where you have to rely on your goaltender to shut the door as well and not let in those two at the end which caused us to lose the game. I take it upon myself. It's what I do, I never try to put any blame on anyone else. They try their very best out there in front of me and then it's my job to make the saves when it's needed.”
Ottawa was leading Vegas 4-3 heading into the third period, and held it for most of the frame. But Tomas Hertl tied things up on a powerplay at 16:49, and Keegan Kolesar gave the Golden Knights the lead a minute later. Ivan Barbashev would ice it with an empty netter just 25 seconds after Kolesar's game-winning tally.
Ullmark ended up making 22 saves on 27 shots in the defeat. It was his first start since October 12 after missing four games with a strain.
“I'm not gonna come with any excuses,” the 31-year-old continued. “I've played this game for too long to have those excuses. … It stinks. That's all I've gotta say. It's one of those games where you really felt that we deserved to win that one.”
With that, the Senators fall to 4-3 on the 2024-25 campaign; the Golden Knights improve to 5-2-1.
Golden Knights remain undefeated at home after stunning Senators
“It was a really good game,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said afterwards, per NHL.com's Paul Delos Santos. “Tough building to play in. Really good team. … We had a lot of good looks around their net. That was a hard-fought game. We probably deserve better than no points out of that game.”
The Golden Knights have won all five of their home games this season and lost all three on the road; they're now tied with the Calgary Flames for the top spot in the Pacific Division. Vegas is back in action on Saturday night against the San Jose Sharks for the second half of a back-to-back set.
Despite the loss for the Senators, the team remains above .500 and will look to get back in the win column against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Sunday night. Ullmark will likely get the start again despite a tough ending on Friday, and he's looking forward to the challenge.
“It's gonna be fun,” said the former Vezina Trophy winner. “That's the thing, that's the beauty of this league. There's 82 games, you don't really have time to dwell about the past. I'll be pissed off today but then tomorrow, I hope the sun is going to shine in Denver.”
Ullmark is locked up in Ottawa for four more seasons after 2024-25, and an unfortunate start to his Senators tenure should correct itself as the campaign progresses.
