Go ahead and hand Linus Ullmark the Vezina Trophy right now.
Just a few nights after the Bruins scored the franchise’s 1st ever goalie goal, Ulllmark turned in what may have been his most impressive single game performance of the season. Ullmark stole two points on a night the Bruins faced the worst shot differential in team history (-39).
Ullmark made a a career high, and Boston Bruins single game record 54 saves on 57 shots, including 6 saves in overtime before Charlie McAvoy scored the game winning goal with 4 ticks left on the clock. Did Ullmark steal this game? Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery thinks so.
“Absolutely, he did,” Montgomery said via the NESN postgame show. “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.”
Linus putting on a clinic in Calgary ? pic.twitter.com/4eO3MoEjPA
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 1, 2023
According to the Hockey analytics site MoneyPuck.com, Ullmark had 2.9 goals saved above expected on Tuesday night, 2.2 in the first period alone.
“What should I say?” Ullmark asked. “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 we’ll go home with a four-game road trip win streak. Love it.”
Ullmark’s performance just padded his already eye popping season statistics, which unless something crazy happens in the seasons’s final 22 games, will result in the 29 year old winning his first ever Vezina trophy. Entering Tuesday’s game, Ullmark led the league in with .923 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes. That’s the highest total since Moneypuck.com began tracking stats in 2008.
“Man, he’s just a competitor,” McAvoy told reporters. “What a game by him. The shots were obviously a lot to a little there. You know, he gave us a chance to ultimately get a win at the end. … Running out of stuff to say about him. It’s just amazing. I feel very fortunate to play in front of him.”
The win swept the west coast trip for the Bruins and extended their winning streak to a season high 8 games. The Bruins now have an ungodly 47-8-5 record for 99 pts, 16 points ahead of the second place Toronto Maple Leafs and 13 points more than the next closest team in the NHL
Boston has dominated opponents all season long. Tuesday night was one of those rare games where an opposing team took it to them. Any other night, and possibly any other team loses this game. But not on this night. Not with Ullmark between the pipes.
“There’s an incredible belief on our bench that we’re always going to find a way,” Montgomery said. “There’s no panic. We knew we were being drastically outplayed, and our goaltender gave us an opportunity.”
