To say Linus Ullmark has been a brick wall between the pipes for the Bruins this season would be an understatement.
The Boston goalie improved to 17-1-0 on Tuesday night after a 23-save performance in the Bruins’ 4-3 shootout win over the New York Islanders at TD Garden to kick off the homestand. Of the 23 stops, none were more crucial than when J.G. Pageau found himself on the breakaway with the game on his stick. He backhanded the puck but Ullmark stonewalled him to keep the Bruins in it.
Ullmark is having a Vezina-worthy season that hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates. That continued to ring true after Tuesday night’s win.
“It’s been amazing,” Jake DeBrusk, who had two goals in the win, told reporters of Ullmark’s success. “It’s probably the biggest reason why we’ve done so well. I think, obviously, everyone’s been, for the most part, firing on all cylinders throughout the group. He’s been a rock back there. It’s something that gives you a lot of confidence as a player, knowing that he’ll make the stops at the right times.
“It’s one of those things where I feel like you can gain momentum as a goalie really fast when you string a couple together. Especially at the beginning of the year, we needed him, and he was there to answer the call. Even tonight, he was, and it’s not fun doing shootouts on him in practice.”
Ullmark is well on his way to surpassing last season’s 26 wins — which also was a career-high for him — if he keeps up this pace.
Head coach Jim Montgomery knows it’s important to not overuse Ullmark, which he stated while Jeremy Swayman was sidelined with an injury and Ullmark made the brunt of the starts in his absence, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Swayman get the start either Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings or Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Ullmark is on a torrid pace, has given the Bruins a chance a win every time he’s in net and he is showing zero signs of slowing down any time soon.
