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Bruins’ Linus Ullmark isn’t fretting over Matthew Tkachuk and Panthers’ physicality at the netfront
"It's just playoffs. Everybody plays physical, it doesn't matter."
Sunday was an eventful evening for Linus Ullmark.
Given that the usual requirements of his job description revolve around stopping volleys of vulcanized rubber, it’s not often that the 29-year-old netminder ends a game with a win, assist …. and a misconduct.
“It’s a different kind of day at the office, definitely,” Ullmark said with a smile on Tuesday morning at Warrior Ice Arena.
Ullmark’s dust-up with Panthers power forward Matthew Tkachuk in the closing minutes of Boston’s Game 4 victory at FLA Live Arena drew plenty of headlines — as is the case whenever a netminder shakes off the gloves in search of a scrap.
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But Tkachuk and the Panthers’ propensity to stir up scrums after the whistle isn’t anything new for Ullmark, especially around this time of year.
“It’s just playoffs. Everybody plays physical, it doesn’t matter,” Ullmark said. “Like what happens out there. That’s just part of the game as well and there’s gonna be guys that crash the net a little harder, try to whack the pucks out of your glove and try to cause mayhem and get those dirty goals. We do the same thing. It’s nothing new.”
The events leading up to his attempted showdown with Tkachuk was a blur for Boston’s goalie.
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A post-whistle shove by Tkachuk on Ullmark led to the full line brawl with a little over three minutes to play on Sunday.
After Tkachuk attempted to snag Ullmark’s stick amid the fracas, Ullmark dropped the gloves and tried to challenge the pesky winger before being separated by the officials.
“Things happen so fast, so quickly and then you have everybody just trying to stick up for each other and then I tried to do the same there at the end as well,” Ullmark said of his potential fight. “But it’s not something that I’m actively seeking out, especially late in the games like that. If it was a 3-2 game or anything. Now it’s 5-2, it’s a little different feeling to it, I would say.”
As expected, the usually stoic Ullmark was flooded with texts and messages from friends and family after getting off the ice following Boston’s 6-2 victory.
“There are a lot of surprising comments,” Ullmark said. “My mom was basically the first one to respond and ask what happened. She hasn’t seen me like that, my brother as well. But mostly positive things.”
Ullmark and the Bruins will look to deliver a knockout punch to the Panthers on Wednesday night in a potential series-clinching Game 5 at TD Garden.
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Ullmark is 3-1-0 with a .926 save percentage in four games against Florida this round.
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