A few weeks ago, the Philadelphia Flyers reassigned goaltender Samuel Ersson back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after a standout stint with the big club.
In normal circumstances, Ersson would’ve remained with the team as Carter Hart’s backup but Felix Sandström’s conditioning stint was coming to an end and the Flyers had no choice because Ersson was waiver exempt. I don’t think it’s fair to say that Sandström has been – for lack of a better word – bad, but he is definitely third on the totem pole behind Hart and Ersson.
With the Flyers placing Zack MacEwen on IR and having 2 empty roster spots, they decided to call up Ersson – and Kieffer Bellows – ahead of the Western Canadian and Seattle road trip that would span 8 days. The Flyers last played on Monday against Calgary and are currently embarking on 4 games in 6 days, which is precisely why Ersson was brought back.
Ersson was thrusted into action when both Carter Hart and Felix Sandström were inactive due to injury and illness, respectively. Hart returned a few games later but John Tortorella held him back a few games because not only did he want him to fully recover, but also because Ersson had being playing lights out in between the pipes.
Ersson achieved a feat that no goaltender in franchise history had accomplished in sweeping the California road trip by defeating the San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Ducks. He allowed 6 goals on 86 shots in the 3 games as the Flyers were able to stumble into the New Year on a high. His next game came a week later with Hart returning from injury but he shut out the Buffalo Sabres for his first career NHL shutout, making 28 saves along the way. His final start before being sent down came against the Anaheim Ducks again, where he allowed 2 goals on 27 shots – another late goal with less than a minute remaining – en route to his 5th win of the season.
He has had his issues, not to say he hasn’t been fantastic, but in his NHL debut he was pulled after allowing 5 goals on 22 shots against the Carolina Hurricanes with the Flyers looking flat-footed, helpless, and out of sync. Hart relieved the youngster only to have to exit after allowing the eventual game-winning goal with the Flyers almost completing the epic comeback. Ersson then came in relief of Hart during the Flyers’ thrashing against the Boston Bruins in their matinee on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, allowing 2 goals on 13 shots.
Ersson’s surge wasn’t necessarily a surprise per se, as he did exceptionally well in his preseason minutes where he stopped over 95% of the pucks thrown his way, and then in the AHL he posted a 15-10-1 record with a .911 SV% and a 2.58 GAA. Whereas his counterparts – with the exception of Sandström – have posted a 5-8-2 record, a save percentage below 88.5%, and a GAA just below 3.50.
John Tortorella hasn’t minced any of his words regarding the young Swede either when he first said that his reassignment to the Phantoms was not because of his play. Then he said that if Carter Hart doesn’t play in any of the games on this road trip, it’s going to be Ersson getting the nod and not Sandström. All of it culminated with his recent quote:
“Ers deserves to be here. I told you guys early on he was one our best goalies at camp. He deserves to be here. That is no criticism of Sandy, but Ers deserves to be here. If Carter does not play, he will.”
That was punctuated with Ersson being the backup in the opening game of the road trip against the Kraken.
Sandström received the benefit of the doubt last year when he made his debut with the Flyers giving him absolutely no goal support, with his offense scoring 6 goals in his 5 losses and being shut out in 2 of those games. That trend has continued this season as well with 18 goals of support in his 9 losses, but in his last 2 games – separated by 21 days – the Flyers mounted a comeback down 3-0 against the Jets only to squander it on a weak goal, and then scored 3 goals in a snoozefest against the Kraken. He unfortunately stands with a 1-12-2 record, an .891 SV%, and a 3.42 GAA. It’s unfortunate for Sandström because people won’t remember how he has only received 24 goals of support in his 14 losses and 29 in total when you figure in his lone NHL victory, but that’s the way she goes sometimes, especially with Ersson stealing most of his spotlight.
Sandström’s play has been shakier this season, he hasn’t made that big save when the Flyers needed it – either down a goal or tied – and Ersson outshining him probably hasn’t done him any favours. Nevertheless, he’s had his chances to stake some claim to the backup role and while he’s still only 26 years old, time might be running out.
Goaltenders are a different breed, one year you can be a Vezina Trophy finalist and then the next year you could be one of the worst goaltenders in the league. Development is key, consistency is especially important, and the team in front of you will dictate your fate and this rendition of the Flyers won’t be helping many goaltenders. Carter Hart gets a lot of flack for not being consistent or clutch, but he has to deal with a defense that maybe has 2 good players at that position. He also has to deal with an offense that is scoring at a basement-dwelling pace yet again. Ersson has just looked the part and even though it was a short stint, he brought about a calmness and consistency that has alluded Sandström this season.
It might be a good problem to have 3 capable goaltenders, but with Ersson’s waiver exemption looming over his head and that of Sandström’s, it’s going to be an interesting stretch for both goaltenders with the Flyers having 24 games remaining on the docket. Carter Hart has paced the Flyers with 42 games played this season and is only one behind the NHL lead, behind Jordan Binnington’s 43. There will be some playing time for the backups at some point with 5 sets of back-to-backs remaining and a few stretches of 3 games in 4 days or 4 games in 6 days, where Hart will need to be rested regardless.
For now, it’s Ersson’s net and playing time to lose as he figured into one start on this road trip on the first leg of the back-to-back Monday against the Calgary Flames, which became a 33-save 4-3 victory. The clock might be ticking for Sandström’s time with the Flyers and if they decide they want to keep Ersson permanently – which Tortorella might not mind – they will either have to send Sandström down to the minors which will require waivers, or they could trade him for assets ahead of the trade deadline that is fast approaching.
