There's been a lot of talk in 2024 about the Flyers goaltending.
Actually, you probably could insert any year in that sentence and be correct. But this past year has been one of more goalie chatter frequency than others.
That's because you had the Carter Hart saga finally unfold to start the year. You had the wild, and still somewhat untold story of Ivan Fedotov and how he somehow got out of his KHL contract to come play in the NHL in March.
And then there was the summer soap opera of Alexei Kolosov that is still awaiting the cliffhanger resolution of him staying in North America or returning to the KHL next month.
The one guy who has gotten the fewest headlines though, is the Flyers new No. 1 goalie - Samuel Ersson.
Oh, sure there was some talk about him hitting the wall during the Flyers March collapse that saw them crumble and miss he playoffs, but it was always couched with references to the "unexpected" departure of Hart, the inability to find a second goalie to partner with him, as Cal Peterson was a disaster, Felix Sandstrom was not NHL caliber and Fedotov was thrown into the fire for a few games after a whirlwind journey.
Ersson ended up playing in 53 games, which is probably 23 more than the Flyers would have liked him to play in as a rookie. For a while, he held his own, until he couldn't anymore.
It was a lesson for a young netminder, who was really good when he was the No. 2 goalie but struggled when he was asked to carry the load.
It was what he took with him into the offseason in preparation to be the guy for the start of the 2024-25 season, one in which he would know from the jump that he's the man.
So, he flew under the radar while all the talk was still about other goalies. Even while he was having an excellent training camp and preseason, Ersson was still on one of those, "let's-evaluate-when-the games-count" conversations.
Well, the first game that counted happened well after dark on Friday night in the city farthest from Philadelphia on the NHL map. And while the game didn't end until an hour into Saturday morning, the headline for when fans woke up would finally be about Ersson instead of one of his masked compatriots.
That's because Ersson made 24 saves in regulation and overtime and then four more in a five-round shootout to lead the Flyers to a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks in Philadelphia's season opener.
Ersson was magical in the first period, despite allowing one goal. The Flyers had a bit of a sluggish start against the Canucks, and the game could have gone down a completely different path if not for Ersson.
He was tested less in the second and third periods, made a couple key saves in overtime, and then was once again thrust into the spotlight in the shootout, where he's been remarkable in his time in the NHL.
It wasn't the prettiest game. There were a lot of mistakes on both sides that led to chances, a few of which someone cashed in on, but the steadiest player was Ersson.
Vancouver goalie Kevin Lankinen was also strong in the game, which is why it went well past the witching hour and needed a shootout to determine a winner. But the reality was, Vancouver was the better team early in the game, and Ersson was a difference maker.
Note: For Flyers games this year we're going to have some regular categories that we examine in our post-game breakdowns. Some of these will be regular. Some of these will be interchangeable with others. Here's the first batch:
Two Thumbs Up
Ersson was as good as it gets for the Flyers. Both Canucks goals were the result of bad plays in front of him. He also has the patience of a saint on shootouts and rarely makes the first move and waits out the shooter, which gives him a better chance of making the save.
The Flyers Power Play looked good. I know, don't faint. They scored on their first opportunity as Tyson Foerster finished a solid series of passes by banging one past Lankinen to tie the score at 1-1 late in the first period. The play was pretty simple and required good vision. Egor Zamula made a simple entry pass to Bobby Brink, who found a teammate with space in Joel Farabee, who one-touched a pass to Foerster, who had gotten behind the defense. Execution was superb.
Two Thumbs Down
Ryan Poehling can't mishandle an easy pass like the one he got from Rasmus Ristolainen on a breakout. It leads to nothing but trouble in the other direction.
It may be harsh to give a thumbs down on an NHL debut for the youngest player in franchise history, but all we heard about Jett Luchanko was how attentive to detail he was in his game, and then he lost his man on the second Vancouver goal.
Rooks were more than Pawns
Despite that play, Luchanko had some nice shifts, as did rookie sensation Matvei Michkov. Michkov was especially noticeable in the third period of the game when he had five shots on goal. There was one shift when Luchanko and Michkov were on the ice together and the rookie duo each had a golden opportunity to score, only to be denied once each by Lankinen. If either scored there, that would be all anyone was talking about today.
A Frosty Finish
Morgan Frost scored the game-winning goal in the fifth round of the shootout, in one of the slower developing shootout shots you will ever see. Frost basically lulled Lankinen to sleep and as soon as Lankinen was no longer square to the puck, Frost snapped a shot low glove for the win.
It should be noted here that although its's just a footnote in most places, Travis Konecny scoring in the shootout in the third round, with the game on the line to tie it, was probably the biggest play of the game when determining which team would get the second point. Not traditionally a good shooter in the shootout, Konecny made a speed move to beat Lankinen and keep the Flyers alive in a most score situation.
Crazy Stat of the Game
The Flyers have now registered at least one point in 10 straight opening night games (8-0-2), making them only the fifth NHL team to ever do that for 10 consecutive seasons.
Up Next
Ready for another late night? The Flyers head to Calgary tonight to face the Flames in another 10 p.m. start. Nothing like Flyers after dark four times in a row to start the season, eh?
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