The Ottawa Senators started their season with two straight wins when they cruised past the Bruins Monday in Boston by a 4-1 score.
But the win was a potentially costly one, with starting goalie Linus Ullmark exiting the game with an undisclosed injury. On Tuesday, coach Travis Green said that Ullmark “kind of tweaked something a little bit,” according to Senators columnist Bruce Garrioch.
As a result, Green announced that he had decided to scratch Ullmark for Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings.
Samuel Ersson will start in goal for the Ottawa Senators tonight in Detroit, while Ullmark sits out after leaving Monday’s win in Boston, according to NHL.com.
Ottawa (2-0-0) plays the second half of a back-to-back, and the winless Detroit Red Wings (0-2-0) now face a backup goalie, so does that finally deliver their first win?
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena. Jonas Johansson, recalled Tuesday from Belleville, dresses as Ersson’s backup, according to the Ottawa Citizen.
| CONFIRMED STARTING GOALIES — SENATORS vs. RED WINGS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 7:00 PM ET | ||
| Ottawa Senators | Detroit Red Wings | |
| Starting Goalie | Samuel Ersson | John Gibson |
| Last 5 Starts: Record | 4-1-0 | 1-4-0 |
| Last 5 Starts: GAA | 2.16 | 3.54 |
| Last 5 Starts: SV% | .906 | .872 |
| Last Meeting (Mar. 24, 2026: OTT 3 @ DET 2) | Did not play | L, 18/21 SV |
| Source: RotoWire confirmed starters. | ||
Ullmark Injury Puts Samuel Ersson in Net
Ullmark left after two periods in Boston. Bruins forward J.J. Peterka crashed into him with 4:24 left in the second, and Ullmark finished the period but never returned.
Coach Travis Green said Ullmark “tweaked something” and that the move was precautionary. The injury is listed as undisclosed and day-to-day.
Ullmark stopped all 10 shots he faced, and Ottawa led 4-0 when he exited. Ersson played the third period and stopped 8 of 9, according to The Associated Press.
That 20-minute stint is Ersson’s lone appearance this season. Tonight is his first start of 2026-27 and his first as a Senator.
The 6-foot-3 Swede was born in Falun on Oct. 20, 1999. Philadelphia took him in the fifth round, 143rd overall, in 2018. He went 65-50-17 with a 3.01 goals-against average, .884 save percentage and 7 shutouts in 144 games, nearly all with the Flyers. His best year came in 2023-24: 23-19-7, 2.82, 4 shutouts. Last season he posted a .870 save percentage behind Dan Vladar.
Philadelphia traded him to Toronto on June 16, and 10 days later the Maple Leafs sent him to Ottawa for a 2027 fifth-round pick, according to TSN. He signed a two-year, $4.4 million deal in July.
Red Wings Goalie John Gibson and a Shot at a Win
Gibson, 33, was born in Pittsburgh and went 39th overall to Anaheim in 2011. He shut out Vancouver in his NHL debut on April 7, 2014, and shared the 2015-16 Jennings Trophy with Frederik Andersen, according to NHL.com.
Detroit acquired him on June 28, 2025. He enters tonight with a 2.87 GAA, .909 save percentage and 28 shutouts in 565 games.
This season, Gibson is 0-2-0 with a 2.07 GAA and .915 save percentage. He allowed one goal on 20 shots in a 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers, then three on 27 in a 3-2 loss to Winnipeg. All three Winnipeg goals came on the power play, and Detroit’s penalty kill sits at 50 percent, according to NHL.com.
The goalie swap tilts things Detroit’s way, though not decisively. Ottawa is traveling, missing Jake Sanderson, and starting a goalie coming off a .870 season. Edgehalla’s schedule model gives the Red Wings a 13.3-point net win-probability edge.
Ottawa has scored 3.50 goals per game and allowed 1.50. Detroit has scored 1.00 and allowed 2.50. The Red Wings have won three of the last four meetings, but only three of the last 10 at home against Ottawa.
Ottowa Senators Announce Linus Ullmark Decision Before Red Wings Game in Detroit