Linus Ullmark was a man on a mission Friday night.
The new Bruins goaltender took the ice for his first regular season action as a member of the Black-and-Gold on Friday night. He left it all on the ice, stopping 34 shots in Boston’s 4-1 win over the previously undefeated Buffalo Sabres.
Friday night was a completely new beast for Ullmark. The 28-year-old spent the first six years of his career between the pipes for the Sabres before signing a four-year deal this offseason with the Bruins, so the clash held more significance.
“I wasn’t really thinking, it was more like an out-of-body experience it felt like in warmups and in the first (period),” Ullmark said after the game, via team-provided audio. Anthems as well but then kind of settled in right as the puck dropped. It was enjoyable. It felt familiar, you know, just being on the other side this time.”
Amid the excitement, Ullmark still was quick to give credit to those in front of him.
“It’s definitely going to be one of those life-long memories, for sure. It was very special,” Ullmark said.
“I had a couple of lucky bounces as well but that’s the game of hockey,” he continued. “Sometimes you have them with you, sometimes you don’t and today was one of those days where I had them with me and the guys did a terrific job of putting the puck in the net at the other end.”
The new guy is fitting in just right.
Here are some other notes from Bruins-Sabres:
— Brad Marchand appears to be in midseason form already for the B’s.
Marchand has opened the 2021-22 NHL on a red-hot offensive streak, and he kept it going against the Sabres. The left winger has recorded at least one point in each of Boston’s three games so far this season, including two assists Friday night.
— The Bruins’ penalty kill was a well-oiled machine in the win.
The Sabres had four power plays against the Bruins, but were unable to capitalize on any thanks to a strong all-around performance from Boston’s defense.
— Adjustments were key for the Bruins on Friday after a slow start defensively.
“They were coming through the neutral zone too easily, we were losing our third guy and we were one-and-done on the other end. Now we were one-and-done to the tune of a couple of goals which obviously helps,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “But we didn’t have enough O-zone play and through the neutral zone so we made an adjustment between periods just to back it off a little bit and be a little deeper on our forecheck.”
— Taylor Hall already has as many goals this season as he scored as a member of the Sabres last season.
Before being traded to the Bruins at the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline, Hall netted just two goals in 37 games in Buffalo and already has tied that total in three games this season.
— The Bruins return to TD Garden on Sunday afternoon as they take on the San Jose Sharks at 1 p.m. ET. All coverage can be found right here on NESN.
