We’ve seen flashes of brilliance and periods of mediocrity from Sam Ersson so far in his short stint with the Philadelphia Flyers. His less-than-stellar performance against the New Jersey Devils in the Stadium Series has many wondering if he’s ready for full-time backstopping duties.
The rookie goaltender did not have the start to the 2023-2024 NHL season that he, or the organization, had hoped for. He was lit up in his first appearance in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on October 21, giving up five goals on 25 shots. The Stars seemed to identify a weakness on his blocker side and attacked it repeatedly, beating Ersson there four times in total.
He fared no better in his next outing. A week later, facing the now-lowly 19-33-2 Anaheim Ducks, Ersson was shelled for seven goals and made only 18 saves in an embarrassing 7-4 loss. No relief came for Ersson in the lopsided defeat. Truthfully, he wasn’t as bad as the numbers reflect. The Flyers gave Anaheim way too much room in the slot, and they capitalized with high-danger chances. Still, he could’ve been better. His rebound control and positioning cost the Flyers on at least two goals.
In two starts (0-1-1), Ersson closed out October with a brutal .760 save percentage and 5.91 goals against average.
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