OTTAWA — Giving up 49 shots is not a recipe for success, but on this night Linus Ullmark showed what great goaltending can do for a team.
Ullmark was the difference for the Ottawa Senators on Monday night, stopping 48 shots in a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
The Senators (33-25-5), who are looking to snap a seven-year playoff drought, now hold the first wild-card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference and are creating a bit of breathing room from those still trying to claw their way in.
The Red Wings (30-28-6), mired in a six-game losing streak, probably deserved a better fate for their efforts, but are slowly seeing their playoff chances slip away.
The Red Wings now sit four points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets (31-24-8), who occupy the second wild-card spot and have a game in hand.
“They put a lot into that game,” said Red Wings coach Todd McLellan. “There’s no complaints about effort or, really, execution. We ran into a goalie that had a career night and, unfortunately for us, we couldn’t find a way to beat him.
"We didn’t give up much; we played a good, hard, gritty game. And when you’re in a (losing streak), it’d be nice to get a game like this and come out of it, but if we play like this and we continue to play like this, we’ll find ways to get wins.”
Scoreless after 20 minutes Ullmark was at his best in the second where he turned away 27 shots, tying a franchise record set by his counterpart at the other end of the ice in Cam Talbot who set the record when he played in Ottawa in 2022.
The Senators took a 1-0 at 7:39 of the second period when David Perron beat Talbot, who made 21 saves, with a power-play goal.
The Red Wings controlled play and had stellar chances but Ullmark was ready every single time.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” Ullmark said, when asked what goes through his mind during a period like that. “It's just about (stopping) the next one. Always the next one. Doesn't matter if it goes in or not. Same mindset throughout the whole period and if you get 29, 40 shots in one period or two, doesn't matter. Should have the same mindset either way.”
That’s not to say Ullmark wants to see many more games like this down the stretch.
“It was just a chaotic game,” Ullmark said. “I'm pretty sure that, you know, we have to look at ourselves in the mirror and say that wasn't good enough, and we have to be honest with each other. It's not a sustainable type of game to play if we're going to keep winning down the stretch.
"We’ve got to be honest with each other. But at the same time, it takes a lot of the group to find a way to win, which is a very positive thing at the end.”
The Red Wings managed to finally beat Ullmark in the third period when Dylan Larkin stripped the puck from Matthew Highmore and curled back and beat the Ottawa netminder short side to tie the contest 1-1.
But it was the Senators who were able to capitalize on the man advantage to take the lead.
With just under five minutes remaining in regulation, Jake Sanderson saw Dylan Cozens — acquired at the trade deadline — at the bottom left side who buried his first goal as a Senator.
“Just so much excitement, you know, at a time like that, in a big game like this, I mean, obviously didn’t have to do much,” said Cozens. “It was a great pass by Sandy and a great battle by (Tkachuk), just had to put it in the open net. You know, just so excited to score there. That was a huge goal for us.”
The Red Wings nearly tied it at the buzzer. Lucas Raymond let a shot go that beat Ullmark but time had expired.
“Not much to do, right?,” said Raymond. “Time had expired, but we should’ve put the puck in the net a long time before that.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press
