The 2022-23 NHL season has been one to remember for Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark, and he has broken yet another record with his performance on Tuesday night.
Ullmark has been one of the hottest goaltenders in the entire NHL. In 38 games played, Ullmark is 31-4-1 with a .938 save percentage and 1.88 goals against average.
Against the Calgary Flames, Ullmark put in a performance for the ages. He stopped 54 of the 57 shots he faced in the Bruins overtime win. After the game, the goaltender said that he had a blast between the pipes.
“What should I say?” Ullmark stated. “It was a lot of fun. You never really want to get up to almost 60 shots in the game, but I’ll take it. We got two points and will go home with a four-game road trip win streak. Love it.”
Jim Montgomery gave full credit to Ullmark for leading Boston to a victory.
“Absolutely, he did,” Montgomery said. “If people didn’t know how good he was, they’ll watch this tape and know why he’s having such a fantastic year. He’s been the best goalie in the NHL this year.
“We just — there’s an incredible belief on our bench that we’re always going to find a way,” Montgomery added. “There’s no panic. We knew we were being drastically outplayed, but our goaltender gave us an opportunity. Calgary was dominating us, but they gave us an opportunity, and we took advantage of it.”
Ullmark was also named the NHL’s Third Star of February. In the month, he went 6-0-0 with a .947 save percentage and 1.79 goals against average. On top of that, he scored an empty net goal, the first Bruins goaltender to do so.
With his stellar play this season, Ullmark is close to guaranteeing himself a Vezina Trophy. At this point, his name is now in the conversation around being an MVP candidate. His stats make it hard to not consider Ullmark for the award.
While Ullmark will be happy with the buzz surrounding his name, it will all be for nothing if he and the Bruins fail to win the Stanley Cup. Nevertheless, it seems likely that Ullmark will be adding to his trophy cabinet once this season comes to an end.
