Another week is complete, and the Flyers had their ups and downs. From a near win over the Edmonton Oilers, to a frantic comeback win in St. Louis, to being completely outmatched by the Dallas Stars, the Flyers turned in a 1-1-1 record in three games this week. 

There was plenty that stood out in that stretch. Here’s this week’s Flyers Files:

Slow Starts Becoming a Problem

All three games had something in common. The Flyers allowed the first goal each time. In some cases, it was minimal. They gave up the first goal to Edmonton, but only needed one goal for the rest of regulation to force overtime. In St. Louis, they erased the opening goal, but then had to take down a pair of two-goal deficits to get to overtime and the shootout for the win. And in Dallas, the opening goal eventually ballooned into four.

But this goes back even further than this week. Last Saturday against Ottawa? Down 2-0 in the first. The Thursday before in Nashville? Down 1-0 just 1:44 into the game. They also fell behind 2-0 to Calgary on Nov. 2. 

Aside from a dominant start in Montreal, a game which still had its defensive moments, the Flyers have not scored the first goal in six of the last seven games. Chasing the game gets old quickly, especially when it costs you a lot of energy.

Case in point? An already uphill battle in Dallas became tougher giving up the first goal early. Coming in fresh off a 65-minute effort for a shootout win in St. Louis, the Flyers weren’t going to have the legs in this game and were clearly facing a more complete opponent. The result checked out.

The Flyers get some break time before playing their next game on Thursday, where they will need to start to figure out what’s keeping them from starting on time. It’s cost them a couple of games recently.

Ersson’s Struggles

Every Sam Ersson start is met with groans from the fans. Ersson hasn’t given the fans much to be confident about lately. His most recent start showcased it.

Ersson was in goal for the first time since going on IR on Oct. 30 last Saturday. He allowed three goals on 14 shots. The Flyers lost the game in overtime. And while at least two of the three goals were no fault of Ersson, the save percentage stands out in a particularly poor way.

So when it happened again in St. Louis, as the Blues put up five goals on 17 shots, the fans were stirring again. It was justified, as Ersson didn’t look sharp throughout most of the game. His tracking appeared off, and shots where he seemed square were simply beating him clean.

Of course, Ersson locked things down in overtime and the shootout, seemingly his specialty, to secure the win. But it’s still a major concern regarding Ersson. Dan Vladar’s numbers have been so good, Saturday’s 5-1 loss to Dallas aside, that he’s clearly in the driver’s seat as the starter. But you need Ersson to be a reliable backup for upwards of 30, 35, potentially 40 starts in a season. And right now, it doesn’t look like he can be counted on for that role.

That can change in a hurry. Ersson has gone on hot streaks before and instilled great confidence in the fan base. But he’s got quite the road to go down to get back to that.

Dvorak on a Hot Streak

Of the newcomers to the Flyers’ roster, there has been plenty of spotlight on the creativity and skill of Trevor Zegras, as well as the steadiness of Vladar in goal. But Christian Dvorak has been a mostly overlooked offseason acquisition.

On the weekend, Dvorak scored three goals, bringing his season total to six. Through 18 games, that’s tied with Zegras and Owen Tippett for the team lead. Who had that on the bingo card as the quarter mark neared?

Dvorak is no stranger to playing under Rick Tocchet, which could certainly explain why he’s seemed to be a natural fit. Add in his ability to kill penalties, and Dvorak has been a reliable player, certainly all the Flyers could ask for out of one of their free agency deals.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.

Philadelphia Flyers Uniforms Through The Years

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