Senator’s Playoff Fate Now Hangs on Linus Ullmark

Linus Ullmark’s return to the crease couldn’t have come at a more desperate moment for the Ottawa Senators. They’ve been hanging around the edge of the playoff math all season, never fully in, never fully out. The hope was that getting their top goalie back could steady the whole operation.

And in his first game back, Ullmark looked a lot like the guy Ottawa hoped they were getting: calm, composed, and quietly outstanding.

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Ullmark Had a Stellar Game for the Senators

Ullmark stopped 41 shots in that return game, the kind of workload that would bury most goalies. And here’s the eye-catching part: even though his raw save percentage sits around average this year, his “net saves”—the numbers that strip away noise and look at shot quality—were around +7 in that game alone. That’s a goalie stealing your points. Ottawa hasn’t had nearly enough of that this season.

But here’s the real math the Senators are dealing with: if they want to stay in the playoff hunt, they basically need to put together something like a 15–5 run over their next 20 games. That kind of push usually lands a team around 98–99 points, which is historically the cutoff for a wild-card spot. It’s not impossible. It’s just tight. Very tight.

Ullmark Matters to a Senators’ Team to Make the Playoffs

And this is where Ullmark truly matters. Ottawa doesn’t need him to be a Vezina-level monster every night. They just need him to be average to above average, which is exactly the level he’s lived at when he hasn’t been injured. When Ottawa gets league-average goaltending, its whole game settles down. Their defence looks less chaotic. Their young forwards can push the offence without feeling like every mistake ends up in their net. Sometimes that’s all a team needs — stability.

One rough patch could really hurt Ottawa’s playoff push. When Ullmark’s clicking, he’s tough to beat. When he’s off, you notice it fast.

The Senators’ Playoff Hopes Run Through Ullmark

So Ottawa’s playoff hopes kind of run through him now. If Ullmark gives them that steady, reassuring presence he’s known for, they’ve got a shot — a real one. If he slips even a little, the math gets ugly fast. Linus Ullmark’s return gives Ottawa life. Just average goaltending from him keeps them in the mix.

Can Ullmark play better than that? If so, the Senators have a pulse in a playoff race that looked dead a month ago.

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