Who doesn’t like a good goalie fight? And there certainly appears to be one brewing between Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators and Ilya Samsonov of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Sure, for now it’s only a battle of words, but you’ve got both sides firing salvos.
It stems back to last season’s opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, when both netminders were with different teams. Ullmark was playing for the Boston Bruins, while Samsonov was with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Those two teams were opening-round opponents, and it was the Bruins who would be vanquishing the Maple Leafs in seven games. Ullmark has suggested that he wonders whether the series might have tilted the other way were the Leafs to stick with backup goalie Joseph Woll instead of ultimately going back to Samsonov in the series.
Goalie feud? It’s November 21, and both Samsonov and Ullmark are starting. 😳
— BarDown (@BarDown) November 21, 2024
Three months ago, Samsonov left these comments on an Instagram post labeling Ullmark as the #10 goalie heading into the new season.
Samsonov was seemingly upset about Ullmark’s remarks on Samsonov… pic.twitter.com/mXDs7E3giv
“I was surprised that they kept Samsonov (in the net) for that many games against us in the playoffs,” Ullmark said. “I felt at least when (Woll) was in net, it felt like it was more of a challenge.”
The Leafs were 1-4 in the series with Samsonov between the pipes. He posted a 3.01 goals-against average and .896 save percentage during the set.
Woll, meanwhile, was 2-0. His GAA was 0.86 and Woll’s save percentage was .964.
Samsonov took to social media to respond to Ullmark’s comments.
“November 21,” Samsonov posted on his Instagram account. “Keep your ass shut. Or are you injured again?” He also took the time to point out that Ullmark was ranked the No. 10 goalie in an NHL poll.
That’s tonight, by the way. The 11-6-2 Golden Knights are in Canada’s capital city to face the 8-9-1 Senators. Sounds like you might want to be tuning in to that tilt.