Ottawa are 7-1 with Ullmark in goal. He left on a routine save, and Ersson is 0-2

By the Data Desk · Published 22 OCT 06:45

First reported by TSN · 22 OCT 03:00

Linus Ullmark is 7-1-0 with a .945 save percentage this season, and Samuel Ersson is 0-2-0 at .831. On Wednesday night Ullmark went down on an ordinary save with nobody near him and was helped off the ice, TSN and Daily Faceoff reported, and Ottawa host San Jose on Thursday night.

• Ullmark left with 16:25 to play and Ottawa 3-1 up, after stopping 17 of 18 shots. The Senators won 5-1 (NHL game data).
• Travis Green said after the game that Ullmark has a lower-body strain and will be evaluated on Thursday, as reported by Andrew Wilimek of the Senators' website.
• Ottawa are 7-3-0. Ullmark has all seven wins; Ersson started the other two games, lost both and gave up 12 goals.

Nothing hit him. Daily Faceoff describes Ullmark pushing to his left and keeling over in the butterfly; TSN says he slumped after deflecting a puck with his right pad. He stayed down for a few minutes and left with the training staff and Claude Giroux at his side. Ersson faced one shot in the last 16:25 and stopped it.

Behind the scenes, the timing is awkward. RotoWire, writing for CBS Sports, says Ullmark probably would not have started on Thursday anyway; the open question is whether he can dress as the backup. If he cannot, RotoWire and theScore expect Jonas Johansson to be recalled from AHL Belleville. By early Thursday morning, Ottawa had announced no roster move.

It is the second scare this month. On 5 October in Boston, Ullmark came out after two periods and Green said he had "tweaked something" (TSN); Johansson was called up, and Ullmark was back for the home opener three days later. The split since then is hard to miss: in Ullmark's eight starts Ottawa have conceded 12 goals, and in Ersson's two starts, a 5-3 loss in Detroit and a 7-2 home loss to St. Louis, they conceded 12.

What happens next: the Senators expect to know more after Thursday's evaluation. San Jose arrive at 5-4-1 after a 4-3 win in Montreal on Tuesday, so they have had a night off and Ottawa have not. After the Sharks come the Rangers at home on Saturday and a trip to Vegas on Tuesday.