The Flyers had a mixed bag of results on a four-game road trip over the past week. Two losses came via the shootout. Another came in disappointing fashion in regulation. They also picked up a win in Montreal along the way.

But it wasn’t the 1-2-1 record that was problematic. It was the way the Flyers lost. Three winnable games in front of them, all coming up short. They led 2-1 late in the second period of Thursday’s game. They led 4-2 after two periods in Saturday’s game. Both turned into defeats, resulting in potentially three points going by the wayside.

With two games left until the holiday break, here are my observations from this week. Here’s this week’s Flyers Files:

Ersson’s Struggles Continue

Sam Ersson has really become the lightning rod of negative reaction among Flyers social media circles. Take a game like Saturday’s. Ersson allows four goals and didn’t make a save in the shootout, as a 4-2 lead turned into a 5-4 defeat.

Ersson was hardly alone in sharing the blame for the loss. But there have been plenty of occasions where you’re looking for that one big save, the ability to erase other mistakes that may happen around him.

Ersson has a 5-4-4 record this season, four of the five wins coming in shootouts. His 3.10 GAA and .867 save percentage alone are problematic. The staggering difference between Ersson’s numbers and the impressive performance of Dan Vladar also doesn’t help.

Saturday was the latest example, and one that features a scenario that would likely sink the Flyers’ successful season thus far. Vladar was unavailable due to injury, and even if this is a short-term thing, the glimpse of what life could be like with Ersson leading the goaltending helm looked bleak. 

The Flyers still have a lot of belief in Ersson, both the players in the locker room and management. That said, at what point does that start to change? Ersson has allowed three goals or more in 10 of his 13 appearances this season. It’s a challenge to need four or five goals just to be competitive, and that seems to be the task at hand regularly.

The problem is that there is no easy solution for the Flyers in goal. With Vladar unavailable, the Flyers called up Aleksei Kolosov on an emergency basis. Kolosov is still molding his game in the minors. Carson Bjarnason has been solid in his first pro season, but it’s too early to think about bringing him into the NHL spotlight. And, at least right now, it doesn’t seem that trading for a netminder is an option, not that would substantially change the goaltending picture.

Which leaves the Flyers to figure it out with what they have. Probably not the solution fans were looking for after Saturday.

Perception of Points

As of Monday morning, the Flyers are still in a playoff spot, sitting at 41 points in the first wildcard spot. Considering expectations going into the season, that’s certainly impressive, but it’s a matter of perception how you feel about where the team is at the moment.

The Flyers have a 17-10-7 record. On one hand, 17 wins to this point in the season is probably more than anticipated. Only 10 regulation losses is also a decent number. But you could just as easily classify it as 17 wins and 17 losses instead of points in 24 of 34 games.

It’s how the recent stretch has gone for the Flyers. The optimist will look at the standings, with the Flyers in playoff position, and could easily point to the Flyers gaining points in seven of their last nine games as a positive. The pessimist will note that the Flyers’ record in those nine games is 3-2-4, meaning they have lost six of their last nine.

Last week, I wrote about the significance of the final eight games of December for the Flyers. The schedule included Montreal, Buffalo, the Rangers, Vancouver twice, Chicago, Seattle, and Calgary. The Flyers started the stretch well, winning in Montreal. They let a game in Buffalo get away in the second half of the game, and carried a two-goal lead to the third period in New York, only to let that one get away too in a shootout. So, in a stretch where the Flyers could easily have started 3-0-0, they are instead 1-1-1.

There are still five games left to change the perception of this eight-game stretch. They face Vancouver at home on Monday night and again on the road next Tuesday. The Canucks just traded away their captain and top player in Quinn Hughes. 

They face Chicago on Tuesday. The Blackhawks will be without their top player, Connor Bedard, due to injury. 

They face Seattle on Sunday in the return from the holiday break. The Kraken are 2-7-0 this month and have lost 10 of their last 12 games.

They face Calgary next Wednesday in the final game of 2025. The Flames have been better of late, but still sit 28th in the NHL. 

Vancouver is currently 30th. Seattle is 31st. Chicago is 32nd. Each of the next five games is against a bottom-five team in the NHL. 

If there ever was a time for the Flyers to run with opportunity and pad their point total, this is it. And taking care of business, as they should, against the bottom-feeders of the league could change the perception of their point total and standings position.

Barkey Impresses in Debut

The injury to Tyson Foerster and some minor bumps and bruises for others on the team have led the Flyers to try some different things with the lineup. When Cam York missed some time earlier this month, Ty Murchison got the call-up, certainly an unexpected decision, but held his own in a three-game period.

On Saturday, it was Denver Barkey’s turn.

Barkey was a bit of a surprise call-up, with Alex Bump certainly at the top of the forward group in the AHL to potentially get the call. However, Barkey’s development path had him on the fast track to the NHL. Barkey played junior hockey with the London Knights, essentially run like a pro team. Barkey was also the team’s captain last season, a team that eventually claimed the Memorial Cup.

So Barkey has played in the big moments in juniors, been a leader, and makes up for his lack of size with an abundance of heart. The motor never stops with him.

It showed in his debut. Two assists, multiple scoring chances, and consistently noticeable throughout, he caught the eye of the most important person for his immediate future, Rick Tocchet, who said postgame he would be fighting for him to stay in the lineup.

Barkey will probably get another chance on Monday night on home ice and again on the road in Chicago on Tuesday. From there, could he be part of the solution to filling the void of Foerster? Time will tell, but a good first impression can put you right at the top of the list of options.

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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