Linus Ullmark's Back Issue Now A Much Bigger Concern After Ottawa Senators Call Up Two AHL Goalies On Friday

It's not often you'll see an NHL team have to call up two goalies from the minors on the same day. But coming out of the holiday break on Friday morning, the Ottawa Senators did just that.

And for Sens fans, the news was received like a holiday lump of coal.

The club announced on X Friday morning than both Leevi Merilainen and Mads Sogaard have been recalled from their AHL club in Belleville. Merilainen was already with the club prior to the break, filling in for Anton Forsberg who was hurt a couple of weeks ago during warmups.

Merilainen started Saturday's game in Vancouver, picking up his first NHL win. He played again the following night after Linus Ullmark hurt his back in the first period in a loss to Edmonton. Head coach Travis Green said that Ullmark decided to come out after his back "tightened up."

Today's double goalie recall suggests that whatever caused Ullmark's back to tighten up hasn't been fully resolved yet after five days off. And even if the injury isn't serious in the short-term, everyone knows that back issues can be unpredictable and lingering. So that adds an extra layer of concern for a goalie in his 30s who just signed a four-year, big money extension.

Prior to the injury, Ullmark was the hottest goalie in the NHL in December and seen by most as the biggest reason for the Senators being one of the hottest teams this month.

With the Senators scheduled to play in Winnipeg on Saturday night against the best team in the NHL right now, the timing of the injury is brutal. And things don't get any easier on Sunday as the Senators face the fifth-seeded Minnesota Wild in a back-to-back situation

Sogaard has only played in six games this season. He missed almost two months after an injury on October 20th and returned just two weeks ago. He looked good yesterday in Toronto, stopping 23 of 25 shots in the B-Sens' 3-0 loss in Toronto.

According to TSN 1200 Radio, the Sens say Ullmark won't be on the upcoming road trip. That means at least a five-game absence with what the club calls a "tweaked back." Forsberg is on the trip.

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