Ullmark enjoys welcome, OT victory with Senators in return to Boston

BOSTON -- Just after warmups started, at the red line near the benches, Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman met. They touched gloves, gave each other a hug, and posed for photos. Hours later, in a more private space, the pair shared another hug, as Swayman and Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo met their former teammate outside the visitor’s dressing room at TD Garden. The trio chatted in the hallway, something they had done countless times over the past three seasons.

Neither hug was quite the same as the ones that Bruins fans had gotten used to, the massive embraces after wins that spawned copycats and T-shirts.

But that was to be expected, because this time Ullmark wore another logo.

It was a triumphant return to Boston for Ullmark, who spent three highly successful seasons with the Bruins, winning the 2023 Vezina Trophy voted as the top goalie in the NHL and sharing the William M. Jennings Trophy with Swayman as the goalies for the team that allowed the fewest goals that same season.

After a save on Elias Lindholm 13 seconds into overtime -- the Bruins’ first shot on goal since 15:53 of the second period -- a 2-on-1 rush ended in a Brady Tkachuk game-winning goal at 21 seconds of the extra session, a 3-2 win for the Ottawa Senators.

“There was certainly a lot [of emotions],” Ullmark said. “I’m not gonna lie. It was a lot, especially during warmups, I had goose bumps going out there and hearing the crowd again.

“And also, just getting the win in this barn is not easy. It’s something that you dream of, especially when you’re coming in here as an opponent. You really want to bring your A game.”

Ullmark knows well what it is like to win in TD Garden. The goalie has the fourth-most wins at the arena all-time, his 49 behind only Tuukka Rask (170), Tim Thomas (101) and Byron Dafoe (73). Swayman has 42.

“You could feel that he wanted it really bad tonight and that just was contagious to us to want to get it done for him,” Tkachuk said.

The Bruins led 2-1 in the second period until Michael Amadio tied the score at 17:16, setting up the overtime heroics for the Senators.

It was a win that Ullmark called a “statement game, so to speak.”

And the fans welcomed him back with open arms. The goalie, who had signed a four-year contract on July 28, 2021, as an unrestricted free agent from the Buffalo Sabres, was traded to the Senators on June 24. General manager Don Sweeney has said that both Ullmark and Swayman said they wanted to start 55 games, an impossibility, and the Bruins had cast their lot with Swayman after handing him the net in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

Ullmark got an ovation from the crowd when he skated onto the ice. He got another one at 7:14 of the first period, when the Bruins played a tribute video for him.

“It meant a lot,” Ullmark said. “It’s not something that I’m striving for, obviously, but it’s something that you can look back and say, yeah, you’ve made enough of an impact in this community and this organization as well for them to show gratitude towards you as a player.”

He acknowledged the fans, skating out to the blue line and raising his stick, as his former teammates gave him stick taps, including a smiling Swayman.

“He deserved every bit of that [ovation], and just goes to show he’s a talented goalie, he’s a great human being,” Swayman said. “People are going to support that.”

Ullmark and Swayman had formed a tight connection over their years together, their friendship a treasured part of those Bruins seasons.

“We share such an incredible bond, and seeing him in another jersey’s different,” Swayman said. “I’m very happy for him and the success he’s having and I expected a game like that, back and forth, so it’s fun to watch him succeed.”

Though in the end, Ullmark might have been the one having a bit more fun, given the outcome.

“It’s something that I’ll look back at and bring with me for forever,” Ullmark said. “Just had to enjoy the moment.”