Senators G Linus Ullmark returns from leave, serves as backup

Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark returned from a monthlong personal leave Sunday and served as his team's backup during a 7-1 win over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights.

Ullmark did not need to take the ice as starting goalie Mads Sogaard saved 19 of the 20 shots he faced in the runaway win.

Ullmark went on leave Dec. 28, one day after a difficult road loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and later revealed in an interview with TSN that he experienced an onset of anxiety and panic during that game.

"We hockey players always think that things are going to kind of sort themselves out. So I kept playing, thinking that in the first period, kind of everything will settle once I get out there. And then you let in the first goal, first shot, first period -- (40) seconds in. That doesn't really make you settle in very nicely. Now your thoughts start to get even more louder," Ullmark said.

"And the thing is that I've learned a lot back in the day when my dad (died in 2021) regarding depression, regarding sadness. How to really make the darkness your friend. And so, this was a whole new thing. But I also know that I was very scared. It was something that physically manifested in me during the game. And I was very, you know, I was not myself, basically."

Ullmark said he contacted the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and organized his leave of absence with the Senators.

Ullmark, 32, is in his second season with the Senators. The 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner is 177-95-31 with a 2.58 GAA, a .914 save percentage and 13 shutouts across 11 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres (2015-21), Boston Bruins (2021-24) and Ottawa.