Bruins’ Linus Ullmark Opens Up About Near-Fight With Matthew Tkachuk

Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark dazzled with 41 saves Sunday afternoon in Florida, but his Game 4 performance will be most remembered for an early exit.

Ullmark received a game misconduct with 3:11 left in Boston’s second consecutive win over the Panthers at FLA Live Arena. Tempers flared around the Bruins net after the visitors cleared their zone, and Ullmark eventually expressed a willingness to fight Matthew Tkachuk by removing his helmet and dropping his glove. Mind you, Tkachuk drew the ire of the Bruins after the first-period horn when he cross-checked Garnet Hathaway.

Following Tuesday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena, Ullmark issued his first public comments about the incident.

“Things happen so fast, so quickly,” Ullmark told reporters, per team-provided video. “You have everybody just trying to stick up for each other and I was trying to do the same there as well. It’s not something I’m actively seeking out, especially late in the game. If it was a 3-2 game, I wouldn’t have done anything. It was 5-2 and there was a little different feeling to it, I would say. It’s kind of hard to explain. When you’re up 5-2, there’s no need for stupid stuff like that.”

Bruins teammates loved the fire shown by the “pretty fair-tempered” Ullmark, whose efforts between the pipes have put the Bruins in position to eliminate the Panthers on Wednesday night. The Vezina Trophy frontrunner noted he was feeling “great” after Tuesday’s practice, so he’s in line to make his fifth straight postseason start in Game 5.

NESN’s full coverage of the potential series-clinching tilt begins at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday.