He has dominated all season.
But when it mattered most last night, Linus Ullmark stood for a fateful painting.
Now the Swede is seen for the miss.
Linus Ullmark has long been a good NHL goaltender, but not many have seen him since someone who can carry a team to a Stanley Cup title. But this season, he has had a huge breakthrough, and for a while, superior to the Boston Bruins, he has been a real key piece.
Big miss
Ullmark is one of the favorites to win the Vezina Trophy, the award given to the best goalie in the regular season, later in the year. At the same time, the Bruins are the big favorite to win the Stanley Cup, but for that to happen, you need a Ullmark in top form. And that was perhaps not what you got last night, in the fifth game of the first round.
The Bruins had match ball and if they won against the Panthers last night, they would have secured a place in the next round of the playoffs. It was a shocker, and a lot thanks to Ullmark in particular, who played great during the opening 60 minutes, but in the extra time the accident happened, and it was costly. Ullmark left his goal cage to play a puck away to a teammate, but it went really wrong. Instead, the puck went straight to a Panthers player, and a simple pass in front of the goal later Florida had decided.
READ MORE: The huge turnaround for Tre Kronor – the detail now stops Swedish NHL star Elias Pettersson in the hockey World Cup
Sawing
This means that the Bruins now lead the series 3-2, and that you have to wait for a possibly secured place in the next round. And on social media, the criticism against Ullmark is fierce.
“Don’t want to sound too harsh, but really… What the hell was that from Ullmark?” writes a great Boston profile on Twitter.
“Why doesn’t he just knock the puck away?”, writes another.
“This kind of thing makes it difficult for the Bruins to go all the way,” writes a third.
Ullmark told the media after the match that it is now a matter of having “the mentality of a yellowfish”, and he was also highly praised by teammates, who defended their goalkeeper.
– He has been incredible for us all year. He mustn’t be too hard on himself. He is a fantastic goalkeeper. Probably the best goalkeeper in the league. We are here for each other, says team captain Patrice Bergeron.
READ MORE: The new dream statement for Tre Kronor – Nylander and four other NHL Swedes ready for the hockey World Cup