The Buffalo Sabres ended up getting three points against the Rangers in their two-game series this week. The Sabres won the first game in regulation but dropped the second game in overtime. One big takeaway from these two games? Linus Ullmark showed that he has the potential to be a viable starting goaltender.
The Sabres goalie showed that he has the skills to be the true number one in Buffalo. Ullmark put together back-to-back great performances for the Sabres against the Rangers. In both games, he deserved to be the Sabres MVP.
On Tuesday night Ullmark recorded 28 saves on 30 shots and helped Buffalo to a 3-2 victory over the Rangers. Linus was locked-in in the third period, making 15 saves and keeping the Sabres lead safe when the Rangers had a six-man to four-man advantage for the final minute and a half of the game.
Last night he made 36 saves on 39 shots, including a handful of saves on shots that looked like they were certainly heading to the back of the net. Ullmark carried the Sabres into overtime in a game that they were outplayed by a decent margin. His teammates were grateful for his performance that led to the Sabres escaping with a point last night.
"Linus got us a point. There's no way to dance around that one." - Sam Reinhart
— John Vogl (@BuffaloVogl) January 29, 2021
Over the last two games, Ullmark has stopped 64 shots out of 69 shots faced. That would give him a save percentage (SV%) of .928. If he could keep that up throughout the season, he will be the clear number one goalie in Buffalo and would be one of the better goalies in the league in terms of save percentage. In the 2019-2020 season, the highest save percentage in the league was Anton Khudobin with a SV% of .930.
Buffalo is 2-0-1 with Ullmark in net since he rejoined the team and they look like a much more well-rounded team since his return. It is safe to say the Sabres and Linus Ullmark’s stock is on the rise right now.