Linus Ullmark didn't finish Tuesday night's game at TD Garden, but he did more than enough to help the Bruins make history -- again.
Ullmark stopped 19 of the 21 shots he saw from the Washington Capitals before Boston head coach Jim Montgomery pulled the veteran goaltender in a precautionary move. Ullmark's strong effort in between the pipes helped the Bruins set the NHL's new single-season points record, two days after fellow B's netminder Jeremy Swayman lifted the Black and Gold to another historic victory.
With Tuesday's triumph, Ullmark closed the book on a fantastic regular season in which he won a tick over 83% of the games he started. NESN analyst Andrew Raycroft, a Bruins goalie for five seasons, believes the NHL will never see another run like that.
"Linus Ullmark winning 40 games in 48 starts will never be matched again. Nuts," Raycroft tweeted after Boston's 5-2 victory over Washington.
Swayman played the final half of Tuesday's third period following Ullmark's exit, which was ordered by Montgomery after the Vezina Trophy frontrunner awkwardly slid into a post. After the game, the Bruins bench boss explained Ullmark was dealing with some muscle tightening and is "going to be fine."
The B's are expected to start Swayman in net for Thursday's regular-season finale in Montreal. From there, Ullmark will resume his remarkable campaign when Boston kicks off its Stanley Cup playoff run.
