Bruins’ Linus Ullmark Deserved Better Fate In OT Loss To Oilers

BOSTON — Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark unfortunately can’t buy a win at the moment.

It doesn’t seem to matter how well Ullmark plays, either. He turned in an outstanding performance Tuesday night against the high-powered Edmonton Oilers, but due to a bit of bad luck, came out on the losing side for a sixth straight start. He hasn’t backstopped a win since shutting out the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 8.

But the 2-1 overtime defeat shouldn’t diminish Ullmark’s performance as he stonewalled the Oilers for the majority of the night and gave the Bruins a terrific chance to grab two points.

“I thought Linus was great,” Montgomery said. “He was awesome. The last two nights, our goalies were stellar. That’s what they’ve been for us. They’ve been really good.”

Ullmark, who finished with 24 saves, didn’t assess his performance the same way Montgomery did. The veteran netminder was his own biggest critic.

“Not good enough I would say, obviously,” Ullmark said. “We lost, 2-1. It’s a 60-minute game, 60-plus today. It’s not 59 or something like that. So, something to take with me to next game. But it is what it is, I guess.”

Ullmark stood tall against Connor McDavid and company through the first two periods and much of the third. He positioned himself well and redirected rebounds to the corners to prevent second-chance opportunities for the Oilers, who came into the contest averaging the third-most goals per game in the league.

But then Ullmark caught a bad break in the eyes of Montgomery. Edmonton scored the game-tying goal with 1:20 left in regulation as a puck sent toward Ullmark bounced high into the air and found its way into the back of the net.

“I think it’s a lucky goal,” Montgomery said. “It pops up in the air and goes in the perfect space behind the goaltender’s head and the crossbar.”

But that’s just the way things are going currently for last year’s Vezina Trophy winner. The puck luck hasn’t been there but the performances, for the most part, have been more than enough from Ullmark.