- The Senators activated Linus Ullmark off injured reserve Sunday
- Jonas Johansson was assigned to Belleville to clear the roster spot
- Read below for when Ullmark could play and how Ottawa fared without him
The Senators have their starting goalie back.
Ottawa activated Linus Ullmark off injured reserve Sunday, ending an eight-game absence with a lower-body injury, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reported. Jonas Johansson was sent to Belleville to make room.
Ullmark got hurt Oct. 21 against the Panthers after stretching to make a save on Brady Tkachuk. We covered the move to injured reserve the next morning, and he has been on the shelf ever since.
The timing of the return was the open question on Friday. Ullmark was asked whether he might play Saturday against Utah and gave a coy answer.
“Will I be playing tomorrow? No,” Ullmark said. “Have you ever had me say that I’m going to play tomorrow? You gotta try … One day is going to be one of those days.”
He explained that the team was taking it day by day and didn’t want to rush anything.
“We don’t want to end up doing things too early or too soon,” Ullmark said. “It’s a long season, and a lot of important games are coming up as well.”
Samuel Ersson started against the Mammoth, and Tuesday’s home game against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals looks like the next real window. The Senators haven’t said who will start.
Ottawa went 4-4-0 without its top goalie. Ersson was solid during the stretch with a 3-1-1 record and a .922 save percentage, while Johansson went 1-2-0 with a .848 mark. That split is why Ersson stays as the backup.
Ullmark was one of the best goalies in the league before he went down. He is 7-1-0 with a .945 save percentage and a 1.33 goals-against average, a big turnaround after the worst season of his career last year.
Johansson heads to a Belleville team where he has already played five games, going 3-1-1 with a .912 save percentage.
