Insider: Linus Ullmark's Continued Absence “Is Getting Weird”

He's in. He's out. He's in. He's out. It's been a bizarre last few days for goaltender Linus Ullmark, as he continues to be absent from the Ottawa Senators' crease despite some hopeful moments that he'd be returning.

I’m half expecting my next Ullmark notification to say he’s out for the season. This is ridiculous pic.twitter.com/tOL9oJ1zeS
— Physalis4 (@OldManPhy) October 23, 2024

On Monday, Ullmark indicated he'd be ready to go for Tuesday night's game against the Utah Hockey Club, but come puck drop, there was backup Anton Forsberg making his fourth straight start. Yes, it certainly worked out for that game, as Forsberg posted a shutout in a 4-0 Ottawa win.

But what's going on with Ullmark? Insider Elliotte Friedman, appearing on the Fan Hockey Show on Wednesday afternoon, called the whole thing "weird."

The Ullmark thing is starting to get a little bit weird... You think he's close, you think he's close, then all of a sudden (head coach) Travis Green says he's not gonna play tonight, and everybody's like, 'What the hell is going on here?'.

Ullmark has been out with a "muscle strain" but was close enough to be on the ice for the morning skate on Tuesday in Salt Lake. He's been skating for a week, and according to Bruce Garrioch in the Ottawa Citizen, "Nobody internally would have expected this would be the case and would have envisioned the scenario would unfold this way."

Ullmark went 1-1-0 in his first two starts for Ottawa after the offseason trade to acquire him from the Boston Bruins, posting a .914 save percentage and a 2.58 goals against average.

Forsberg has posted a .904 Sv% with a 2.94 GAA in Ullmark's absence, but when the former Vezina Trophy winner will be back is now anybody's guess. Ullmark is still being called "day to day" by Green, and we'll have to wait and see whether he's ready for the Sens' next game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.

The Senators are an impressive 4-2-0 thus far season.