The Ottawa Senators are pushing for a playoff spot. Still, they have been on the losing end for three games in a row. First, it was a shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.
In the loss to the Panthers, goaltender Linus Ullmark let in five goals in just 14:36 of ice time, leading to him being pulled from the game. Now, Senators coach Travis Green is explaining why he was pulled.
“[Linus Ullmark] is our guy. Last game, I pulled him, but I pulled him more because the team was so sh***y. Not because of him,” Green said.
Ullmark was not great, allowing 11 goals on 16 shots, all in the first 15 minutes of the first period. While those are not great numbers, the fact that the Senators allowed 16 shots in 15 minutes is also horrible. Green previously ripped his team for the poor start, speaking right after the game, according to TSN.
“Disappointing. We talked about the importance of a good start in this building and that was the opposite,” Green said postgame. “We just looked flat, didn’t have a lot of energy. … We just weren’t good enough tonight. Flat out, we had a lot of players who weren’t good enough.”
Blueliner Jordan Spencer also noted that the team was not ready to play against the Panthers.
“Just weren’t ready to play at the beginning. Myself included,” said Spence. “It’s tough. It’s hard to crawl back when they score two quick goals like that. We’ve got learn from it, move past it, and focus on the next game.”
Now, Ullmark will get a chance to bounce back on Thursday night, as they face the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres could clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2011 with a win.
Meanwhile, the Senators are in dire need of a win. At 38-26-10, the Senators are in fifth in the Atlantic Division, and two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
