Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark will play his first game since returning from personal leave Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, according to head coach Travis Green.

Since last Sunday, Ullmark has served as Ottawa’s backup goaltender. That night, he backed up goaltender Mads Sogaard in a 7-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights at the Canadian Tire Centre. The netminder was shown on the arena’s video board and applauded by fans in attendance. He also backed up James Reimer in Ottawa’s 5-2 win over Colorado on Wednesday.

Ullmark recently revealed in an interview with TSN that he departed from the team for mental health reasons and suffered from anxiety during his last appearance against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 27, leading to him taking a personal leave the next day and consulting a health professional from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program.

The Swedish netminder has since practiced with the team and watched home games at the Canadian Tire Centre. Ullmark also joined the Senators on their recent road trip through Detroit, Columbus and Nashville.

Online speculation about the reason for his absence prompted Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios to release a statement condemning “trolls and sick people” for spreading “completely fabricated and false stories online” and violating Ullmark’s privacy. Ullmark spoke about the speculation during the TSN interview.

“It takes one rumor to make you feel like everything that you’ve worked for and that everything that you stand for is ruined,” Ullmark said. “And that is really f—ing hard, and nothing that I wish anyone upon that.”

In 28 games this season with Ottawa, Ullmark has a 14-8-5 record, a 2.95 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage. Ullmark also has the second-worst goals saved above expected at -18.3 according to MoneyPuck.com, trailing St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington at -18.5. Ullmark has played 72 career games with the Senators since being acquired from the Boston Bruins in June 2024 via trade, recording a 39-22-8 record to go along with an .899 save percentage and a 2.82 goals-against average with Ottawa.

Ullmark is in the first year of a four-year, $33 million contract extension signed with the Senators in October 2024. His career-best season came in 2022-23 with the Bruins, when he won the Vezina and William M. Jennings Trophies.

The Senators have struggled with goaltending all season, and hold an .866 team save percentage. Ottawa is tied with the 1992-93 San Jose Sharks for the third-worst save percentage ever recorded by a team in the last 35 years. The Senators, coincidentally, own the two worst single-season team save percentage rates in that span of time.

During Ullmark’s absence, the Senators went 7-7-2, including three games where they blew multi-goal leads in their last four games. Earlier this month, the team signed James Reimer to a one-year contract. The veteran goaltender made his season debut on Jan. 18 in a 4-3 overtime loss against the Detroit Red Wings, making 30 saves in the loss. Reimer holds a 2-2-1 record with a 3.05 goals-against average and an .874 save percentage in five appearances with the Senators.

Ottawa is 10 points out of a playoff spot and hopes to avoid missing the postseason for the eighth time in nine seasons.