The week leading up to the NHL trade deadline is always rife with drama.
Beyond the seemingly endless stream of trade whispers and rumors of blockbuster deals, even the most minute details — an absence in practice, handshakes at the rink — tend to be over-analyzed.
Linus Ullmark can attest to said hysteria on Monday night.
With rumors swirling about the reigning Vezina Trophy winner’s long-term future in Boston, several reporters tweeted during Monday’s road game against the Maple Leafs that the 30-year-netminder was not on the Bruins’ bench.
Ullmark — who was backing up Jeremy Swayman for Monday’s contest — was present and accounted for at the end of Boston’s bench at the start of the game, but disappeared around the midway point of the opening period.