Ottawa’s strong start took a worrying turn Wednesday night when Linus Ullmark exited the Senators’ game against the Florida Panthers in the third period with an apparent lower-body injury.
The trouble came just a few minutes into the final frame. After turning aside a shot from distance, Ullmark pushed to his left and then quickly collapsed into the butterfly position. He remained down for several minutes while a scuffle broke out between the benches, before eventually leaving the ice with help from the Senators’ training staff and Claude Giroux.
Before getting hurt, the Swedish goalie had handled 17 shots, stopping 16 of them across more than 43 minutes. The only puck that beat him came off the stick of former captain Brady Tkachuk. Samuel Ersson took over from there and was barely tested, making one save as Ottawa rolled to a 5-1 win.
The injury is another frustrating chapter for Senators fans who have seen Ullmark miss time since being acquired by Ottawa in 2024. He has played in more than half of the team’s games in each of his first two seasons, but injuries have repeatedly interrupted his stint, along with a personal leave of absence last season. He had already missed time this year after an injury against the Boston Bruins earlier this month kept him out for one game.
There was no immediate report on the severity of the injury, but if Ullmark is forced to miss an extended stretch, the Senators could be facing a problem. Through eight games, the 33-year-old has gone 7-1-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage, numbers that have been a major reason behind Ottawa’s hot start.
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