Linus Ullmark Lost to a Maple Leafs Split Squad. Worry or

There are probably two ways to look at Linus Ullmark's preseason debut for the Ottawa Senators. One is to look at the 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the 20 saves on 23 shots and say, well, that wasn't exactly what the Senators were hoping to see. The other is to remember that it was a preseason game.

The second approach is probably the sensible one. But something about this one caught the eye. The Senators were playing at home, and the Maple Leafs were using a split squad. Most of Toronto's bigger names were back at Scotiabank Arena for the other game, where the Maple Leafs beat Ottawa 6-1. The group that came to Ottawa was largely made up of players competing for jobs. And that group still won.

Ullmark Is Supposed to Be Part of the Answer.

The Senators were hoping for a bounce-back season from Ullmark, and there is plenty of reason for that hope. He was excellent in the playoffs last spring, even though Carolina swept Ottawa. Ullmark finished that postseason with a .932 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average, the best postseason numbers of his career. That's the goalie Ottawa wants to see.

The preseason game in Ottawa doesn't change that. Ullmark also wasn't terrible against Toronto. The fourth goal was an empty-netter, meaning he stopped 20 of the 23 shots he faced. Still, there’s something here worth watching.

Maybe the Goalie Isn't the Whole Story for the Senators.

The interesting question for Ottawa isn't really whether Ullmark can stop enough pucks. It is whether the Senators can make life a little easier for him. Toronto's Ottawa-bound lineup wasn't exactly the Maple Leafs' opening-night team, and yet the Maple Leafs found a way to win 4-2. Ryan Tverberg scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period, and Teddy Blueger added an empty-netter.

That doesn't mean the Senators are in trouble. It means very little, really. But perhaps it is a useful reminder that Ottawa's improvement can't simply be “Ullmark needs to be better.” The Senators need to be better in front of him, too. Preseason is preseason. Nobody should be drawing big conclusions from one September night.

The Senators Need Ullmark to Be Stronger This Season.

Still, if Ottawa is hoping Ullmark can have a bounce-back season, the best way to help him do that might be to give him fewer nights where he has to be the difference-maker. And getting beaten at home by the Maple Leafs' split squad? Well, let's just say it's probably worth putting that one in the notebook.

Not the panic notebook. Just the notebook.