Linus Ullmark had a rough, weird and yet still somehow victorious Tuesday night in the Bruins’ 6-5 overtime win over the Penguins.
Boston pulled the goalie after he allowed five goals to Pittsburgh and was on the hook for his first loss of the season after starting 6-0-0. But Jeremy Swayman was injured in a collision with Patrice Bergeron and Ullmark was forced to go back between the pipes.
The result? Four unanswered goals and a thrilling victory to move Ullmark to 7-0-0 and help extend the Bruins’ win streak to six.
The five goals Ullmark surrendered certainly weren’t all on him, and head coach Jim Montgomery made sure to let his goalie know that upon pulling him.
“I talked to Linus. I needed to slow down the game. I didn’t want to burn a timeout because we weren’t giving up a multitude of chances, we had big breakdowns in the middle of the ice which is usually our strength,” Montgomery told reporters after the game. “I just went over to him in the timeout and said, ‘Not one goal is your fault.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about it, I need to slow the game down.’ Sway went in and battled. This depth on our team is pretty incredible.”
The depth could be tested with Swayman’s injury. The severity is unknown, but the Bruins did recall Keith Kinkaid on Wednesday afternoon on an emergency basis.
Montgomery’s message clearly got through to Ullmark, who quickly found himself back in net, and didn’t allow a goal for the rest of the way, was stellar in overtime and helped give the Bruins a chance to win a game they really had no business winning.
It’s unclear who Montgomery will turn to Thursday night when the Bruins take on the Rangers in New York.
