Linus Ullmark’s latest poor performance has Senators questioning crease yet again

OTTAWA — We all know when a goaltender is letting a team down; it’s the elephant in the crease.

The 2025-26 Ottawa Senators season can be defined by having the second-best goaltender most nights. It’s not a lack of effort, or execution — which could both be better at times — but it’s the lack of saves.

However, it’s mostly been the latter — and there’s no better example than his performance against Montreal in a 3-2 loss on Wednesday night.

Once again, the Senators were right there on the precipice of snatching a point, tied 2-2 late in the third, and then Ullmark fumbled a routine Lane Hutson shot onto Alex Texier’s stick to grab the win for the Habs.

A goal that should never go in. If those goals consistently find the twine, it makes good teams say things like, “in my opinion, we deserved a point tonight,” which was what Tim Stutzle said post-game. 

We’ve heard that kind of answer too many times this season.

Ullmark explained the decisive goal from his vantage point.

“Nothing, really. I mean, he does a good job shooting it through, and then I feel like I have it, but the puck bounced their way at the end,” he said.

Ottawa’s playoff odds dropped as quickly as Ullmark’s rebound dropped onto a warm platter for Texier: from 55 per cent to 40 per cent with the loss, according to Moneypuck.com. The Senators have now fallen to five points out of a playoff spot. 

If you are a glass-half-full kind of person, the regulation loss was Ullmark’s first since Dec. 9. Since then, Ullmark has an .895 save percentage while the Senators have collected points in 12 of Ullmark’s last 14 appearances. Against Montreal, he made some great saves in the first and second to keep Ottawa alive. He also allowed one that killed its chances of a win.

Ullmark holds a 19-9-7 record this season — that’s a 105-point pace — and he has the best save percentage of any of the five netminders to suit up for Ottawa this season at .883. If Ullmark had not taken a leave of absence, the Senators might be where Montreal is in the standings, sitting tied for second in the Atlantic Division.

However, Ullmark was paid over $8 million to be great — not to be pedestrian and cost the Senators games like he did on Wednesday. 

That stinker of a goal meant that Montreal’s 21-year-old goalie Jacob Fowler outdueled a former Vezina Trophy winner in Ullmark, complete with some jaw-dropping saves to secure the victory.

“Their goalie made some big saves down the stretch,” Senators head coach Travis Green said

Ottawa outshot Montreal 34-23.

When was the last time a Senators goalie stole a win?

And when was the last time an opposing coach said what Green said, but about Ottawa’s netminder?  

Stutzle captured the fans’ sentiment when asked how he felt after the loss.

It’s been hard to watch. 

According to Evolving Hockey, Ullmark has posted a goals saved above expected of plus-one four times this season compared to 10 games where he’s been worse than minus-one goals saved above expected. Ullmark sits second-last in goals saved above expected in the league, and the Senators have the league’s worst save percentage despite allowing the third-fewest shots per game.

In 17 of Ullmark’s 36 starts this season, he played below the league-average .896 save percentage.

We can go on if you want, but you know you don’t want us to.

We’ve entered the stage where looking at PuckPedia buyout calculators isn’t foolhardy.

Players and coaches will try their best to avoid acknowledging it, but the Senators goaltending has been so bad, the unspeakable has been said.

It’s not all on Ullmark, of course.

Remember when Jake Sanderson said “you gotta make more than 10 saves” about Leevi Merilainen’s performance against Montreal?

Well, it was Montreal again this time, complete with a sea of Habs fans flooding Ottawa’s arena and booing its captain, too.

The Canadian Tire Centre roof was even leaking, mirroring how the Senators give up goals this season.

The loss was peak trauma for a Senators fan base all too used to heartbreaking regular-season losses due to their goaltender.

Nevertheless, it must be stated that Ullmark’s has faced his own off-ice battles, and we hope he’s feeling better. Nobody deserves the mental-health struggles that forced him to take a leave of absence, as he did earlier this season. At the same time, it’s a performance-based sport.

It also could have just been a one-off against Montreal, although the body of work suggests it likely wasn’t an aberration.

Even when the Senators were winning, it was in spite of Ullmark. Look at how they suffocated the Vancouver Canucks earlier in March, leading to James Reimer grabbing a 16-save shutout. Maybe it’s Reim-time? 

We’ve reached the stage that seems like a rite of passage for the Senators organization since the Craig Anderson era — which is to question the goaltending position.  

It’s the same question is constantly asked in this market from Matt Murray to Cam Talbot to Joonas Korpisalo and now Ullmark.

Did we choose the right goalie?