PHILADELPHIA — It’s become a canned response for most NHL players. When asked about one of the team’s goaltenders who is playing well, the quick retort is almost always along the lines of “we have faith in both of our goalies.”
No need to stoke the fires of a potential goaltending controversy, the thinking probably goes.
In the Philadelphia Flyers’ case, Dan Vladar separated himself from Sam Ersson early this season. Vladar outplayed Ersson in training camp, catching the eye of Flyers coach Rick Tocchet, and started nine of the Flyers’ first 14 games. Halfway through November, the discrepancy was striking: Vladar had a dazzling .919 save percentage and 2.15 goals-against average, and Ersson was scuffling with an .849 SP and 3.30 GAA. The No. 1 goalie was clearly established.
And though Vladar has maintained his generally outstanding level of play, Ersson has found a groove lately, too. Saturday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Xfinity Mobile Arena was another one of those games in which Ersson’s numbers (18 saves on 21 shots) don’t reflect how important he was in helping the club earn a point, as the first-place Hurricanes outplayed the Flyers from a few minutes into the second period through overtime.
The first goal Ersson gave up came from sniper Nikolaj Ehlers, who was given too much time and space from the high slot at 9:11 of the second period, getting the Hurricanes on the board after the Flyers had scored twice in the first. Carolina tied it about five minutes later on Alexander Nikishin’s point shot that deflected in off of Noah Cates’ skate. In the third, it was a Seth Jarvis breakaway score that gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead after a bad line change between Christian Dvorak and Rodrigo Abols.
Samuel Ersson saves a shootout attempt against Carolina Hurricanes center Seth Jarvis. (Kyle Ross / Imagn Images)
In three-on-three overtime — which the Flyers are really struggling with lately — Ersson was the primary reason the game even made it to the shootout. He absorbed a Shayne Gostisbehere shot with 1:31 to go in the extra session after the Flyers were gassed in their own end, and denied Jordan Staal alone in front with eight seconds to go.
Ersson didn’t get any run support in the skills competition. Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, Travis Konecny and Bobby Brink failed on their attempts, and Carolina’s Jackson Blake converted his in the fourth round. That was probably a just result, as the Hurricanes were the better team after the opening 20 minutes, when goals from Brink and Zegras staked the Flyers to an early lead.
Even with the loss and the three goals allowed, Ersson’s numbers in his last five starts are respectable; he’s gone 2-2-1 with an .897 save percentage and 2.54 goals-against average. Certainly, he looks much more reliable than he did earlier. That’s allowed Tocchet to settle into a platoon situation, as each of the Flyers’ goalies has started five of the last 10 games (Vladar will surely be back in net Sunday in Carolina, as the teams play the second of a home-and-home).
Does Ersson feel like he’s settled in?
“Yeah, I think the overall play is pretty good,” he said. “There’s obviously some things to tidy up. Some big saves you want to come up with so you can get away with the win here, but overall, pretty good.”
Tocchet agreed with a suggestion that Ersson had another good night, despite the loss.
“I like his game. He looks good in there,” Tocchet said. “There’s not a goal I think (he could have) had. One goes off of Catesy. He’s doing a good job.”
Tocchet said he was never worried about Ersson, either.
“No. I’ve watched him in practice,” he said. “Talked to him: Block out all the outside noise, don’t worry about all that stuff.”
Ersson had help in the Flyers’ surviving long enough Saturday to earn a point. Zegras, in particular, seemed to have some extra jump, deftly setting up Brink for the first goal and then charging through a host of Hurricanes defenders to deposit a nifty feed from Konecny that gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead.
The biggest goal, though, came from Carl Grundstrom, who has points in three straight games since he was inserted into the lineup on the fourth line in place of Nic Deslauriers. Just 23 seconds after Jarvis’ breakaway, Grundstrom, recalled Dec. 2 from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, picked a corner on Pyotr Kochetkov’s short side off the rush and ripped it through.
“It’s been a lot of fun, for sure,” Grundstrom said of his opportunity. ‘Great group of guys, so just trying to help out.”
The Flyers’ schedule is about to get much more difficult. Saturday’s game was their 19th at home out of the 30 they’ve played so far. Nine of their next 10 are on the road, and Sunday’s game in Carolina kicks off a four-game trip that will also take them to Montreal, Buffalo and Manhattan. They won’t have another multiday break in their schedule until Christmas.
They’ll need both Vladar and Ersson if they’re to have any sustained success.
“We have a ton of confidence in our goalies,” Nick Seeler said.