Linus Ullmark faces defining test with Senators’ season on the line

Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark makes a save during practice. Tony Caldwell/Postmedia Network

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You earn your pay cheque in the regular season and your reputation in the National Hockey League playoffs.

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This is an opportunity for Linus Ullmark to change the narrative.

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There have been a lot of twists and turns for the Ottawa Senators top goalie this season, but Ullmark can continue to quiet the naysayers if he can carry this club on a long playoff run this spring.

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The Senators will start their second straight trip to the playoffs on Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes at 3 p.m., and the 32-year-old Ullmark will be trying to secure the first series victory of his NHL career.

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We’d like to tell you firsthand how Ullmark is feeling going into the playoffs, but the club’s media relations staff told reporters who requested to speak with him before the Senators flight to Raleigh that he didn’t want to talk to the media on the eve of the series.

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That’s part of the job description, but you can’t make a guy face the microphones and notepads, so we’ll move on.

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Making $8.25 million US in the first year of a four-year, $33-million deal he signed with the Senators in Oct. 2024, Ullmark tied as the second-highest paid goalie in the playoffs with former teammate Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins and Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars.

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Andrei Vasilevkiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the top-paid netminder in the post-season with a salary of $9.5 million

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Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers and Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers hold down the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the overall goalie salary scale at $11.5 million and $10 million, respectively, but neither made the playoffs.

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How has Ullmark previously fared in the playoffs?

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So, now it’s time for Ullmark to show he can take his game to another level.

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That is something he has never accomplished in the past. He has never won a playoff series in his career, and his numbers aren’t pretty.

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In 15 playoff starts, Ullmark has posted a 5-10-0 record with a 3.28 goals-against average and a .885 save percentage. He finished with 2-4-0 record in the series against the Toronto Maple Leafs last spring with a 2.84 GAA and a .880 save percentage.

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Those numbers don’t cut it, especially in a series where goals will be at a premium, and the Senators will need stops to beat the No. 1-ranked team in the Eastern Conference.

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The good news is that Ullmark is coming into the playoffs on a roll.

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Since returning from a 35-day leave of absence for mental health reasons on Jan. 31, Ullmark has posted a 14-4-3 record in 21 games with a .904 save percentage and a 2.41 goals-against average.

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The only goaltender who has more victories in that stretch is Vasilevskiy.

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Getting in extra practice

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Ullmark was on the ice early at the Bell Sensplex on Friday with backup James Reimer.