If you’ve followed the NHL journey of Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Felix Sandström, you know that it’s been a trying time for him over the last few seasons.
Sandström has shown brief flashes of brilliance in the that have been overshadowed by frequent inconsistency and poor support in the past, and as a result his statistics have suffered. Before Saturday, he hadn’t seen NHL ice since April 13th, 2023 in Chicago.
The Gävle, Sweden native’s recall from AHL Lehigh Valley to Philadelphia on Thursday opened the door for him to reclaim a full-time job with the team, albeit as a backup. But it’s perhaps the last lifeline he has left in the tank.
Cal Petersen did himself no favors during his stint as Samuel Ersson’s understudy with the Flyers. Petersen went 1-1-0 with an .831 SV% and 4.20 GAA in three appearances in his latest recall, and is 2-2-0 with an .864 SV% and 3.90 GAA with the Flyers overall in five contests. His struggles saw him hit the waiver wire, in which – unsurprisingly – no one claimed the veteran and he was assigned to the Phantoms.
It is now Sandström’s turn to try and stabilize the Flyers’ backup goaltending situation as Ersson continues his run as the starter in the wake of Carter Hart’s leave to face charges of sexual assault stemming from the 2018 Team Canada scandal.
Sandström got hit first taste of NHL action for five games back in 2021-22 and looked rather impressive. He only went 0-4-1 but posted a .910 SV% and 3.23 GAA on a Flyers team that, at the time, played defense rather optionally. Sandström faced 177 shots on goal in those five games and stopped 161 of them. Those totals are the third-most by a Flyers netminder ever in their first five starts with the team behind Bobby Taylor (164 saves on 180 shots) and Martin Biron (167 saves on 180 shots). He also set Flyers records for most saves in a team debut and NHL debut with 43 in his first game against the San Jose Sharks on December 30th, 2021.
Sandström then spent the 2022-23 campaign as the backup to Hart in Philadelphia, notching his first NHL win on November 8th, 2022 against the St. Louis Blues. He then waited almost five months for his next win and donned a poor 3-12-3 record to accompany an .880 SV% and 3.72 GAA. After joining the Phantoms this season, he hasn’t fared much better. He is 11-6-2 with Lehigh Valley, but has posted a meager .882 SV% and 3.23 GAA in 20 appearances.
On the surface, it doesn’t seem like he may be much of an upgrade to Petersen. Their AHL numbers are similar, and Petersen’s stats with the Flyers this season are only slightly worse than Sandström’s were last season.
However, Saturday’s game against Ottawa may have been a turning point. Sandström stopped 24 or 26 shots to help lead the Flyers to a very important 4-2 victory. Thanks to him, Philadelphia now has a five-point cushion over the fourth-place New York Islanders in the division as the chase is on for a playoff berth. The Flyers have just 20 games remaining in their regular season schedule.
“I want to be that guy. I want to be someone who can make a difference here,” said Sandström after the game. “I’m ready for the challenge and do everything I can to be a big positive for this group.”
Sandström made plenty of key saves to keep the Flyers ahead in the game and even with some help from his goal posts, he looked sharp. He moved fluidly in his crease, he made himself look big and challenged shooters, and he most importantly looked confident.
That last one will definitely be the key moving forward for Sandström. He is 27 years old and in the final year of his contract with the Flyers as he will hit unrestricted free agency at the end of the season. Alexei Kolosov, Egor Zavragin, and Carson Bjarnason are all in the pipeline and will be knocking on the door in due time. Even if Sandström doesn’t last with the Flyers, this could perhaps be his final shot at auditioning for an NHL job for next season.
Every game is not only important for the Flyers’ postseason hopes but for Sandström’s future as well, and when he sees game action down the stretch he will be playing for himself in the process.
Saturday’s game was hopefully just a glimmer of what’s to come for Sandström and the Flyers. If they can get backup goaltending like that from him for the rest of the season while Ersson holds the fort for the bulk of the starts, we’ll be watching playoff hockey at Wells Fargo Center this spring.
And just maybe we’ll see Felix Sandström stick around with the Flyers a bit longer than this season.
