Player Discussion Linus Ullmark

[CDJ]

Pressure and expectations in Boston (even with a better blueline) makes him worse? That’s a critique of Ullmark, not a defence.

Didn’t really make him worse. The numbers are basically what they’ve always been if you take out the early season coming back from a procedure

But also I generally think most people function better when they don’t have media and a largely ignorant fan base when it comes to goalies breathing down their neck. Wouldn’t shock me to see him have a great ~40 games next season as it seems like he’s adjusted to the market/gotten fully healthy

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Didn’t really make him worse. The numbers are basically what they’ve always been if you take out the early season coming back from a procedure

But also I generally think most people function better when they don’t have media and a largely ignorant fan base when it comes to goalies breathing down their neck. Wouldn’t shock me to see him have a great ~40 games next season as it seems like he’s adjusted to the market/gotten fully healthy

You and I are in lockstep in expecting Ullmark to be better next season than he’s been this year. Which is essentially what I’m saying. He’s better than he’s shown this year. He looked like a top 10 goaltender in Buffalo. This year, he’s been bottom-half in the NHL. It’s okay to like a guy, but to expect him to play to his capability as well.

 

[CDJ]

You and I are in lockstep in expecting Ullmark to be better next season than he’s been this year. Which is essentially what I’m saying. He’s better than he’s shown this year. He looked like a top 10 goaltender in Buffalo. This year, he’s been bottom-half in the NHL. It’s okay to like a guy, but to expect him to play to his capability as well.

Seems like he’s decided to heat up at the perfect time so hopefully we see a .920 in the playoffs

 

[mikelvl]

Ullmark is definitely grabbing the No.1 job down the stretch. Whether that is good enough to beat Carolina, Florida, Toronto or Tampa in a seven game series remains to be seen. I have my doubts.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Seems like he’s decided to heat up at the perfect time so hopefully we see a .920 in the playoffs

Hopefully we see Jeremy Swayman in the playoffs.

Whoever starts, I think we can all agree in hoping for success. And whoever that is, I’m in “hope” territory. Not confidence.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

While I appreciate that there is so much support for Ullmark and he was great against the Lightning… he hasn’t had a good season. The guy had a winning record and a .916 save percentage the last two years for a lowly Sabres team that was 20 games below .500. He comes to Boston and plays behind one of the best defensive units in the league, sees far fewer quality scoring chances against… and his save percentage drops and his quality start percentage is the lowest of his career.

I like Linus. I supported him during his time in Buffalo, thought he was the most underrated goaltender in the league. I think he’s helped the culture in the room and I like the tandem. But overall, he’s disappointed me this year. I thought I would feel a sense of confidence when he was in the net, but I don’t. When Ullmark has a great game, it feels more like a relief than an expectation. It shouldn’t - he’s better than that.

Tuukka' regular season save percentages over his last 6 full season:

.915, .915, .917, .912, .929, .913

One big season, but generally very close to Ullmark (.912) right now.

Consider Rask had 26 shutouts over that time and Ullmark has none yet, their consistency is probably even closer.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Hopefully we see Jeremy Swayman in the playoffs.

Whoever starts, I think we can all agree in hoping for success. And whoever that is, I’m in “hope” territory. Not confidence.

That's certainly fair.

Going from playoff Rask to complete unknowns. Not to mention the first-round matchup will be against a very strong opponent.

 

[PB37]

Ullmark has had a good year and to me, has met my expectations of him. He's been a good mentor for Swayman and has helped pick the team up when Sway has been struggling with that rookie wall. He is prone to letting in some questionable goals more than i like but so isn't any 'tender that isn't on an elite level. While not in that tier, I would put Ullmark firmly in that next bracket of 12-18 starting goaltenders.

 

[BMC]

You don’t think the defence is as good as the numbers say… but you would admit that it’s a lot better than the Sabres of the past two years, no?

That is setting the bar awfully low don't you think? It's not like it would take a lot for any team's defense to be better than Buffalo's.

 

[Fossy21]

You don’t think the defence is as good as the numbers say… but you would admit that it’s a lot better than the Sabres of the past two years, no?

Defensive units can be good (and indeed bad) in vastly different ways. Some good defences aren't as conducive to great save percentages as others, but lead to similar GAA's. A great D could limit great scoring chances, but limit shots on goal even more, thus increasing the ratio of scoring chances to shots, also increasing the amount of shots on goal which aren't classified as good scoring chances but are sneakily tricky in the process.

I'll admit to not having watched a lot of Bruins games this year, but if you're consistently blocking shots at a high frequency, that's typically a net gain for GAA, but will lead to shots that do get through being much more dangerous on average (especially if you accidentally redirect them or screen your goalie).

The Bruins aren't in the top half of blocked shots this season, but we have the second lowest shots against allowed per game. That's not conducive to high save percentages either. If your team has great puck possession, a higher percentage of scoring chances will come off the rush, from huge defensive lapses, and/or on the power play. Again, not as conducive to save percentage as if your team is getting outpossessed and outshot whilst keeping most shots to the outside with no screens.

We'll see when the playoffs come around, though. I have faith in both our goalies, for now.

 

[Ladyfan]

goalie bob does a pretty nice job

 

[Ladyfan]

Ullmark is definitely grabbing the No.1 job down the stretch. Whether that is good enough to beat Carolina, Florida, Toronto or Tampa in a seven game series remains to be seen. I have my doubts.

Neither of our net minders have played in the playoffs...yet. It will be interesting.

My hope is that the whole team is healthy and plays well. All need to be "good enough" for the best teams (not just the goalies).

 

[PB37]

I have a sneaking feeling that Ullmark has a Thomas year or two in him that hasn't come out just yet. Swayman is our future but Ullmark is only 28 and has many more years left in him.

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

So what happened to all the “ stupid signing, we should have gone with the two rookie goalies” rants?

Hint- this is exactly why they didnt.

Little odd to be high stepping into the end zone like this before the playoffs have even started.

 

[Gee Wally]

Little odd to be high stepping into the end zone like this before the playoffs have even started.

nope. But thats your opinion.
Playoffs got nothing to do with it. Anything short of the Cup will still have the fellowship of the miserable back from their hiatus.

What I find odd is your missing the point altogether

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

nope. But thats your opinion.
Playoffs got nothing to do with it. Anything short of the Cup will still have the fellowship of the miserable back from their hiatus.

What I find odd is your missing the point altogether

There's nothing really to miss. Some think that spending the 5 million in cap on a goalie and rolling the dice on the rest of the roster being good enough was the right move. Others thought spending 5 million on a skater(s) and rolling the dice on the goaltending was the better move.

If the main goal is to compete for the rest of the Marchand/Bergeron era then the playoffs do matter. That's the whole point of making either of those moves.

 

[Gee Wally]

If the main goal is to compete for the rest of the Marchand/Bergeron era then the playoffs do matter. That's the whole point of making either of those moves.

hence you dont go with 2 rookie tenders.

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

hence you dont go with 2 rookie tenders.

thats your opinion.

We'll see how it plays out when it matters but it's not the route I would have went.

Ullmark has as of now 150ish NHL games and no playoff experience. He's a rookie when it comes to the playoffs just as much as Swayman.

 

[fin8]

Put up all the stats you want. Stats don’t win championships. I want to see timely saves. I want to see a goalie steal a game here and there. I don’t want to see soft, back breaking goals that deflates the team. That’s what helps win championships. We’ll find out soon enough.

 

[Gee Wally]

We'll see how it plays out when it matters but it's not the route I would have went.

Ullmark has as of now 150ish NHL games and no playoff experience. He's a rookie when it comes to the playoffs just as much as Swayman.

purposely missing the point yet again or sticking to usual schtick. Whatever.
My opinion? You bet.
once more the point- you dont go into the season with 2 rookie goalies. Not if the goal is to have a shot.
Show me where historically that has worked out. Take the last word since you need it.

 

[Gee Wally]

Put up all the stats you want. Stats don’t win championships. I want to see timely saves. I want to see a goalie steal a game here and there. I don’t want to see soft, back breaking goals that deflates the team. That’s what helps win championships. We’ll find out soon enough.

did you watch last night?
usually you only show up when the goalies have a bad night.

 

[fin8]

did you watch last night?
usually you only show up when the goalies have a bad night.

Not true. I really like both our goaltenders now. Look at my posts about them. Rask is gone. I only had an issue with him. I felt like he choked in big games. Nothing will change my mind about that. I post lots of positive things about the Bruins. I love the Bruins. You just seem to respond to my posts when I posted negative comments about Rask. I did watch last night. What does that have to do with anything I just posted? Linus helped the Bruins win that game. Maybe stole that one.

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

purposely missing the point yet again or sticking to usual schtick. Whatever.
My opinion? You bet.
once more the point- you dont go into the season with 2 rookie goalies. Not if the goal is to have a shot.
Show me where historically that has worked out. Take the last word since you need it.

Neither Bruins goaltender is even in the top 10 when it comes to Vezina odds. You've gotten middle of the road stats from Ullmark for the most part behind one of the best teams in the league at suppressing high danger scoring chances.

You're treating Ullmark as if he's some aged seasoned vet when he's never played a playoff game.

Can't have two rookie goalies but if a guys played 30+ games only twice in his career that's a huge difference right?

Figured you of all people would be above using the tired "schtick" copout but this place surprises me every day.

 

[goldnblack]

What's nuts is the people who got Linus and Haula wrong will be at this again with the next new guy that has only played a few months for Boston.

At what point as a group can we learn to give these guys a bit of time? It's rather nuts.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Neither Bruins goaltender is even in the top 10 when it comes to Vezina odds. You've gotten middle of the road stats from Ullmark for the most part behind one of the best teams in the league at suppressing high danger scoring chances.

You're treating Ullmark as if he's some aged seasoned vet when he's never played a playoff game.

Can't have two rookie goalies but if a guys played 30+ games only twice in his career that's a huge difference right?

Figured you of all people would be above using the tired "schtick" copout but this place surprises me every day.

I didn’t like the “idea” of the vet during the off-season. I didn’t want to sign a guy to be part of the core of the team either. Would have rather spent the money on the rest of the roster.

But there’s one caveat when it came to Ullmark. And it’s that I thought he was one of the best goaltenders in the NHL and that he’d show that marked statistical improvement playing behind a Bruins team that is light years better than where he came from. I thought that between playing for a stronger team and having a young guy like Swayman pushing him from the backup position, it would be the best tandem we saw in Boston since Tuukka was doing the same to Timmy.

Instead, he’s overall been a bottom half of the league goaltender with the lowest percentage of quality starts he’s ever had in his career. Overall, this Bruins tandem has been… okay.

Now were my expectations too high? Perhaps that’s fair to suggest. I don’t think so, but it’s a conversation. But could we have found a veteran goaltender to put up “meh” numbers without committing $20M in the process? Probably! At any rate, it’s not something to be doing victory laps about as we approach the playoffs with holes on defense and forward and $6M dedicated to goaltending that doesn’t sport a confident de facto number one guy.

Again, just to reiterate… I love both of our goalies. I hope the strategy will work and the Bruins kill in the playoffs. But as of today? I don’t see how anyone is convinced that it was the right play.