GARRIOCH: Ottawa Senators expect Linus Ullmark and Ridly Greig to return in Utah

Published Oct 21, 2024  •  4 minute read

Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark faces a penalty shot from Mike Matheson of the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at the Bell Centre on Oct. 12, 2024 in Montreal. Photo by Minas Panagiotakis /GETTY IMAGES

There are a lot of moving parts to the Ottawa Senators roster, but it does look like help is on the way.

As the Senators open a three-game road trip with a visit to the Delta Center to face the Utah Hockey Club for the first time in franchise history on Tuesday, Ottawa will have top goalie Linus Ullmark back and winger Ridly Greig was a full participant in practice on Monday.

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Ullmark, acquired from the Boston Bruins in a blockbuster deal in June, was sidelined for three straight games with an undisclosed strain he suffered on Oct. 12 in a 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on the road.

As for Greig, he’s also been out for a week with an undisclosed upper-body injury and if he’s ready to play against the UHC that would be helpful, but not all the news was good.

Coach Travis Green said that Greig may return against Utah.

If Greig’s ready to play, he could take veteran David Perron’s spot because he didn’t make the trip for “personal reasons”. The club also has forward Cole Reinhardt after he was called up from the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators on Sunday.

“I’m not going to get into specifics (on Perron) but hopefully he’s back as soon as possible,” Green told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson following the club’s 40-minute skate in Salt Lake City on Monday.

“It was great to see (Greig) back out there. I’ll talk with the trainers to see where he’s at for (Tuesday), but he’s a possibility.”

Centre Shane Pinto, who missed Friday’s skate with what Green called a maintenance day, also left the ice early, but is expected to suit up.

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Naturally, getting Ullmark back means a lot for the Senators.

Backup Anton Forsberg won two of the starts he made while the club was without Ullmark, but battled consistency. Forsberg was solid in Ottawa’s 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at home.

But if the Senators are going to make the playoffs then they need Ulllmark to be at his best and play at least 50 games. He resumed skating last Wednesday but the club’s medical staff wanted to proceed with caution because his health is pivotal to success.

“You always want it to go a little quicker,” Ullmark told Wilson. “It sucks being on the sidelines. It doesn’t matter if it’s one, two, three or four games because it’s always a tough position to be in.

“You want to be in the heat, you want to be able to compete and be on the ice with the guys.”

Ullmark has a 1-1-0 record in two starts this season. He has a 2.58 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. He made 31 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Opening Night Oct. 10 and was beaten four times on 26 shots against the Habs.

The last stretch has been frustrating for Ullmark, who signed a four-year, $33 million U.S extension, but he was glad the club had success while he was gone.

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“It’s fun to see we’re playing well and grabbing points here and there because that’s going to be important down the road by beating a couple of good teams. We’re coming into this road trip with a lot of confidence and that’s also nice,” said Ullmark.

The expectation is with no back-to-back games Ullmark will also start against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday and on Sunday versus the Colorado Avalanche in Denver to wrap up the trip.

The Senators are feeling good about themselves as they prepare to open this trip. The club’s best players were at their best in the victory over the Bolts and the Senators need to keep up that pace against Utah.

“We worked hard and the last game was a really good win for us against a very good team,” top centre Tim Stutzle said. “It’s good to come with confidence and I think that’s what we have right now.”

Confidence can play a big role in having success and it can lead to consistency.

“It’s how to develop a winning culture so that you’re not just on and off all the time,” Ullmark said. “You’ve got to win and keep winning. Don’t just play well one game and then play badly the next one.

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“It’s all about stringing all these games together and doing it for a long period. When push comes to shove, you’ve got to do that and continue to do it throughout the season to be able to be successful in the postseason.”

The Senators need to pick up where they left off against the Bolts.

That was one of the club’s best efforts this season and as Ullmark noted it has to continue if the Senators have any designs on returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

“I liked our last game at home against Tampa,” Green said. “There’s a lot of things we liked about it. Now we’ve got to build off it and bring it again.”

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