Buffalo Sabres: Linus Ullmark Set to Make Season Debut This Weekend
By Paul Taylor
Due to an injury to Anders Nilsson, Linus Ullmark has been recalled by the Buffalo Sabres and will likely start one of their final two games of the season.
Linus Ullmark is set to make his first appearance of the season in the NHL this weekend. And all it took was a combination of the end of the campaign, Anders Nilsson being injured and the Buffalo Sabres being out of the playoff picture.
As reported by WGR550, Ullmark was recalled by the Sabres on Friday. Nilsson is still dealing with an undisclosed injury, after taking a shot in practice earlier this week.
Regardless, it makes sense to give the young goaltender a taste of NHL action, with just two games remaining in the regular season. It has yet to be determined whether he will start on Saturday against the Florida Panthers, or Sunday versus the Tampa Bay Lightning?
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Despite being yet to feature in the NHL during the 2016-17 campaign, this marks the most action he has ever seen in a season. To this point he has started 53 games in Rochester, which, as noted by WGR550, is more than even his earlier years in Sweden.
The 23-year old has been decent enough for the Amerks, with a .909 save percentage and a Goals Against Average of 2.86. Unfortunately for the youngster this has not been reflected in the results, as per his record of 25-26-2.
The Sabres have high hopes for Ullmark, who they drafted in the sixth round of the NHL entry draft. At 6 foot 3 inches and 198 lbs, he has the size you look for in a goaltender.
In addition, the Lugnvik, Sweden native has excellent puck-stopping ability, along with supreme confidence in his own abilities. However, it is now up to him to prove he can translate this to the NHL on a consistent basis.
In that respect, this won’t be the first time Ullmark has played for the Sabres. He went 8-10-2 record in 20 starts last season, while recording a .913 save percentage and 2.60 Goals Against Average.
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Do you have any preference who Ullmark starts against this weekend, or would you even like to see him play in both games? Moving forward, what sort of future do you envision for him with the Sabres’ organization? Share your thoughts in the comments section.