The Ottawa Senators came out of the holiday break with a 7-5 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. A season that started with playoff expectations has quickly spiraled out of control for many reasons. Senators goalie Linus Ullmark has not been as strong this year and now has taken a leave of absence from the team, according to a team release.

“Linus has the full support of our organization during this time,” general manager Steve Staios said in the release. “Out of respect to Linus, we will not be making further comments.”

The Senators traded for Ullmark from the Boston Bruins before the 2024-25 season. He was a big reason why they made the playoffs for the first time in eight years, with a .909 save percentage and 2.72 goals-against average. But this year has not been as strong, with a 2.95 goals-against and .881 save percentage.

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Ullmark is out for an undisclosed amount of time, just as the schedule tightens up for the Senators. Starting with Monday's matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets, they play seven games in 12 days, including two road games out West.

Backup Leevi Merilainen will likely assume the starting role for this busy stretch. The 23-year-old from Finland has struggled to start the season, with a .874 save percentage and 3.43 goals-against average. Ottawa entered Sunday's action just a point out of the playoffs, but has four teams to jump to get there because of tiebreakers. That means regulation wins will be at a premium, which just got harder with Merilainen playing.

The Senators did not immediately recall a player from the American Hockey League to replace Ullmark on the NHL roster. They have not had to call up a goalie yet this year, so there is no obvious answer. Hunter Shepard and Mads Søgaard have split time evenly in the AHL, but Shepard has slightly better numbers.