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Linus Ullmark’s struggles take centre stage after Senators’ latest loss

But so far this season, the $8.25-million, Vezina-calibre goaltender has not been good enough, allowing 23 goals in his first six starts. We can discuss the niceties of the penalty kill, five-on-five defence and defensive structure, but none matter as much as Ullmarkâ€s performance.

“I am not pleased with how many goals have gone in,†Ullmark said.

Ullmark has an .854 save percentage and sits second-worst in the league in terms of cumulative goals saved above expected at minus-7.5, according to moneypuck.com. As a team, Ottawa is last in goals against. You don’t need to be Einstein to know thatâ€s not a winning formula.

Through six games, the play of the Senators’ No. 1 has been reminiscent of recent Ottawa goaltenders who promised much yet failed to deliver. Think Matt Murray, or Cam Talbot, or Joonas Korpisalo, whom Ottawa ultimately unloaded to get Ullmark from Boston. None worked until Ullmark, who posted a .910 save percentage last season to vault the Senators back into the playoffs.

We havenâ€t seen the same Ullmark this season. He acknowledges he hasnâ€t been good enough.

“I’m a very harsh critic (of) myself when it comes to these sorts of things,” Ullmark said.

He acknowledged that a late goal allowed last Saturday against the Islanders, which lost the game for the Senators, was on him.

“At the end of the day, what mattered for me, though, was that I let in the fifth (goal) with one minute left on that play where I kind of screwed up,” he said.

We know itâ€s only six starts for Ullmark, but how does a Vezina-calibre goaltender have a goals against of more than five? Where did the elite netminder go?Â

Ullmark said there are “not a lot” of areas of his game he needs to work on.

So why the 23 goals allowed in six starts?

“It’s hard to say, really. I don’t really feel like I can complain about one thing,†he said.

After Wednesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Edmonton, Ullmark belted a roar of anger and frustration with Senators goalie coach Justin Peters beside him in the locker room.

Peters constantly works with Ullmark in practice. After every game, they debrief in the locker room.

“It’s all by creating good habits for myself, going out there with an intent to battle my utmost and don’t give up on the puck,” Ullmark said. “And once I do things well, all these reps will come bearing fruit at the end of the day.”

Ullmark explained that he thought his movement, rebound control and traffic had been good this season, relatively speaking.

“I still feel very confident. I’m doing a lot of good things out there,” he said.

Heâ€s confident, but should the Senators be?

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Last season, Ullmark recovered from a similarly slow start and was phenomenal in December, with a stretch of 9-2-1 and an .954 save percentage. He buoyed the Senators to eighth in team save percentage.

Ullmark has a Vezina trophy, heâ€s been an elite goaltender before and he isnâ€t likely to be one of the worst in the league in the long term. Despite poor numbers early, Ullmark has flashed some excellent glove saves and great stretches of play, including a great snare on Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard in the third period on Tuesday to help force overtime. No need to make final judgments about anyone after six starts. But goaltending is voodoo, and until thereâ€s a turnaround, there is going to be consternation.

For netminders, it always starts between the ears.

“When you’re losing and you’re in a little bit of a grind, it’s a little bit tougher getting up in the morning,†Ullmark said. “So, the sun is not as bright and warm, and things are not as easy. And that’s something that you learn by experience as well.”

Another concern is that Ullmark has never played more than 49 games in a season, yet he’s currently on pace for 70. Entering his 30s, he has a worrisome injury history and no moments of playoff magic — not exactly the best recipe for success. Ottawaâ€s bet on Ullmark has to work with a $33-million contract in hand for the next four years. The backup, Leevi Merilainen, has struggled in the early going, too.

Letâ€s also be mindful that the goals allowed this season arenâ€t all on Ullmark. The Senators’ penalty kill has given up the 16th-most high-danger chances per 60 minutes and sits 13th in expected goals against per 60 minutes. Like Ullmark, the team in front of him enjoys spells of excellent play, only to be burned by poor moments.

Still, Ottawa has been good at five-on-five with the seventh-best expected goals allowed rate, yet it has the worst five-on-five save percentage.

One interesting wrinkle that Ullmark himself has alluded to is the split-second reads that he must make as he prepares to stop a puck. Ullmark went into great detail about how he misread the Anders Lee goal on Saturday that won the game. He thought Lee would try to make a move after his spin-around, so he took an edge, only for Lee to immediately fire.

“Thereâ€s so many small things that happen at such a quick (rate) and your reach has to be on point, that sometimes youâ€re overworking the situation, thinking that you’re going to have to go somewhere else to be able to save it,” Ullmark said. “And then the most simple plays happen, and those are the ones that really frustrate you.

“The solution to this goal would have been doing the simplest thing in the whole wide world. Some people say, ‘Just sit still.’ Yeah, I know that. I should have just stayed put there. But in the moment, you feel like you have to move with the puck as well.â€

Let the mind control the body, not the body control the mind. Ullmarkâ€s ethos has been to have the memory of a goldfish and immediately flush mistakes.

“If you’re looking for trouble, you’ll find it,†Ullmark said.

Senators fans have terrible memories of netminders letting them down. Ullmarkâ€s pedigree, ability and mindset seemed to set him up for a return to puck-stopping glory. Yet itâ€s a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, and, lately, Ullmark hasn’t done much.

In the end, he can become Craig Anderson or Matt Murray. We know which one Ullmark would prefer.

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Can Filip Chytil be the second-line centre the Canucks desperately need?

Elias Pettersson is undoubtedly the teamâ€s No. 1 centre, but skepticism abounds about whether he can regain his superstar status after a sharp decline in production. Below Pettersson on the Canucks†depth chart is Filip Chytil, whose NHL career so far has been defined by unfulfilled promise. Multiple concussions have sidelined Chytil, 26, for long stretches, including the latest one in March that ended his season after 15 games with Vancouver.

In eight seasons with the Canucks and New York Rangers, Chytil has exceeded the 30-point mark once and averaged 14:10 of ice time over his nearly 400-game career. His best season came in 2022-23, when he posted 22 goals and 45 points in 74 games as part of the Rangers†“Kid Line†alongside fellow first-round picks Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko.

Former Canucks coach Rick Tocchet, however, played Chytil almost 17 minutes per game after he arrived from New York in the J.T. Miller trade. Although Chytil produced just two goals and six points in 15 games before suffering another head injury, he played like a difference maker in terms of offensive generation. He led the Canucks in scoring chances (42), slot shots on net (27) and completed slot passes (24) during his first six weeks with the team.

Over that span, Chytil also excelled at transporting the puck up ice, ranking first on the Canucks with 76 defensive-zone carry-outs and 95 offensive-zone carry-ins. It was an encouraging glimpse of what a healthy Chytil can provide the centre-hungry Canucks.

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New Canucks coach Adam Foote told reporters Thursday that the coaching staff has analyzed Chytilâ€s tendencies when carrying the puck in an effort to minimize his risk of injury.

“We want to be more of a team that tries to fill those three lanes and enter at level but then always has that inside drive, which will stop a lot of the movement at the blue line, where I think maybe heâ€s picked up some injuries as far as the east-west game,†Foote said. “You see an east-west game happen, thatâ€s where a (defenceman) will jump up on him and catch him on a bobbling puck.

“Heâ€s got so much skill. He can skate. But weâ€re going to keep grinding on how weâ€re going to play as a group. Once he gets to those landmarks, then that skill set will take over. Heâ€s a great kid. He loves to learn, and heâ€s all for it.â€

The Canucks had the leagueâ€s least prolific rush attack in each of Tocchetâ€s two full seasons, finishing last in rush scoring chances per game in both years. Foote said last week that he wants the team to “get better at striking faster,†which suits Chytilâ€s style of play.

Early indications at training camp are that Chytil could start the season centring veteran newcomer Evander Kane and top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki. Kane did not play last regular season while recovering from multiple surgeries, but recorded six goals and 12 points in 21 playoff games with the Edmonton Oilers. The 21-year-old Lekkerimaki, who has appeared in 24 NHL games, had 19 goals and 28 points in 36 AHL games last season. Â

Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford told reporters Wednesday that general manager Patrik Allvin “was on the phone almost on a daily basis†during the off-season in search of another centre, “but either players werenâ€t available that he wanted or the prices were sky high.†Allvin added that the Canucks are “open for business†when it comes to addressing that critical position. Â

But for the moment, Rutherford said he is satisfied with the Canucks†collection of centres.

“I think the centres we have are good,†Rutherford told reporters, “as long as they stay healthy.â€

Chytil has struggled to do that, and there is plenty riding on his availability this season.

“There was a reason why he was drafted in the first round (in 2017) and (started playing) in the National Hockey League really early,†Allvin told NHL.com last month. “He’s still a good player. We still believe it. I think he recognizes that, and he was very happy and excited to be part of the Canucks and coming into Vancouver and getting to know the city and his teammates and all that, so I think he will come in with more confidence.â€

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