Nobody has to tell Linus Ullmark he hasn’t been good enough.
The Ottawa Senators top goaltender is his own worst critic and, as the two-time Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers arrive in town for their lone visit to the Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday night, Ullmark is well aware he has to be better.
Ullmark has posted a 2-3-0 record with a 3.99 goals-against average and an .848 save percentage this season. He wasn’t happy with the way Anders Lee scored the winner in the final minute of the club’s 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday at home, but he is determined to move on.
“Everybody is looking at wins and losses, and statistics here and there,” Ullmark said after the club’s 45-minute skate on Monday. “I’m not pleased with how many goals have gone in. I’m happy with my own personal process and the things that we’re working on are bearing fruit.
“Things aren’t as bad as they might seem. I still feel very confident. I’m doing a lot of good things out there. I’m a very harsh critic of myself when it comes to these things. The last game was a very bitter loss, and I was pissed off about that for a long time.
“We watched the game yesterday and I realized, ‘OK, there were some really good things.’ The season is long. You can’t dwell on the past because it’s just going to eat you up. It doesn’t really matter now. Tomorrow is a new game against Edmonton and you can’t dwell on what you did against the Islanders. That’s the beauty of it.”
Ullmark wasn’t the only one angry after the club’s loss to the Islanders. That was the genuine feeling throughout the room. The Senators should have at the very least gotten that game to overtime.
“We screwed up. They didn’t win the game. We lost it. That’s plain and simple,” Ullmark said. “That’s what’s causing a lot of frustration when you know it should have at least been a one-point game.”
Ullmark was particularly upset at the winner. Defenceman Jordan Spence didn’t do himself any favours by getting beaten on the play, but Ullmark felt he could have done a better job shutting down Lee.
Goalie coach Justin Peters and Ullmark are working together to try to round his game into form. Ullmark told reporters that, after looking at the goal by Lee a few times on video, it wasn’t great because the goaltender moved with the shooter instead of standing his ground.
“There might be four goals that I don’t see the puck or something like that, but what mattered for me was that I let in the fifth with only one minute left on that play where I kind of screwed up,” Ullmark said.
“You’re going a whole game feeling really confident and happy about what you’re doing. But things happen. Then it’s a clear-cut breakaway where he kind of loses the puck, does a spin-o-rama, and I lift my leg thinking he’s going to keep going with the pressure that’s coming from the right side, then it goes underneath me.
“You’re like, ‘Yeah, that sucks.’”
Ullmark said the Senators know they have to be better with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers in town. The club has to park the loss to the Isles and move on. This group knows it should have a better record, but Ottawa is only six games into a long schedule.
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“There’s a lot of frustration on that part. When you know you’re a better team than you actually show out there as well, you’re going to have a lot of frustration,” Ullmark said. “When results don’t come your way, frustration starts creeping up on you because life is dandy, nice and sweet when you’re winning games.
“When you’re losing and you’re in a bit of a grind, it’s a bit tougher getting up in the morning, the sun isn’t bright and warm, and things aren’t easy. And that’s something that you learn by experience as well, that you’ve just got to stay in the barber shop for as long as possible and, soon enough, you’re going to get a cut.”
I told Ullmark there is an old saying about “paralysis by analysis.” Basically, you overanalyze a situation to the point that you can’t make a decision and, as a result, you don’t do anything right. That’s Ullmark and the Senators know they just have to move on.
“I’ve heard a different saying that if you’re looking for trouble, you’ll find it,” Ullmark said. “As a goaltender, the biggest thing to keep you sane is just to let things go. That’s it. It doesn’t matter what happened.”
Turn the page and move on.