Ullmark also offered a stick to his longtime goalie partner and friend Jeremy Swayman, with whom he shared a hug during pre-match warm-ups.

“It was a lot of fun,” Ullmark said in what was his first game on Causeway Street since an off-season trade with the Sens. “It’s something that I will look back on and carry with me forever, so to speak, and I just had to enjoy the moment.

But most of all, Ullmark was grateful to leave the Garden ice with a victory – hugging his new teammates after helping Ottawa deliver another frustrating loss to Boston on Saturday night.

“It’s a statement game, so to speak,” Ullmark said after Ottawa’s 3-2 overtime victory. “So we just have to learn that this is kind of a game we want to play every night. It’s not just sometimes here and there.

Ullmark’s early returns as the Senators franchise’s new goaltender have been mixed. Entering Saturday’s game against his former team, Ullmark had lost in four of his last five starts, posting an .873 save percentage during that stretch.

But Saturday was a step in the right direction, even if the former Vezina Trophy winner hasn’t necessarily been tested for extended periods of play.

Ullmark finished Saturday’s win with just 14 saves on 16 total shots, as Boston failed to register a single shot on goal against him during the entire third period of play.

The Bruins’ last shot before overtime came at 13:13 of the second period, with former Bruins goaltender Andrew Raycroft scoring. publication on X tUllmark took one hour and seven minutes between shots for the victory.

But Ullmark didn’t lose his focus despite the prolonged lull, deflecting Boston’s only Grade A shot in overtime by turning away a one-timer from Elias Lindholm on a 2-on-1 offering.

Ullmark got an honorary pass on Brady Tkachuk’s game-winning goal seconds later, as Lindholm’s blast ricocheted off his pads and bounced off the Ottawa captain, who ended things in short order.

“There were definitely a lot,” Ullmark said of his emotions during Saturday’s game. “I’m not going to lie, it was a lot, especially during warmups and the response coming out and hearing the crowd again.

“Also when I just got the victory. …and the answer tonight, it’s something you dream about, especially when you come in here as an opponent, you really want to bring your A-game and you want to do it.

Ullmark made the most of his three seasons in Boston, helping form one of the best guard tandems in recent memory alongside Swayman. In Ullmark and Swayman’s three seasons together, Boston posted a record of 163-58-25 – with Ullmark winning the Vezina as the league’s best goalie during the Bruins’ record-breaking 2022-23 season.

“It meant a lot,” Ullmark said of his video tribute. “It’s not something I’m looking for, obviously, but it’s something you can look back on and say, yeah, you made enough of an impact in this community and this organization as well. …And like I said, I will never take it for granted.

Despite the friendships made and memories created during his three seasons in Boston, Ullmark was candid when asked about the type of legacy he left for the Bruins.

“I wouldn’t say I accomplished anything. We didn’t win, and that’s something that’s always going to bother me, because I really felt like we had opportunities to do that,” Ullmark said. “And so I’m going to bring with me those feelings, thoughts, emotions into this locker room and strive to become better and learn from my mistakes, but also impressions and all that kind of stuff that I’ve experienced for kind of better manage the situation if we ever find ourselves in the same situation.

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Conor Ryan is a writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

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