The Philadelphia Flyers were a force to be reckoned with early in the season with the goaltending tandem of Carter Hart and Sam Ersson not only keeping the Flyers in games but stealing wins on a regular basis. Then we all know what transpired in January, leaving Ersson, Felix Sandstrom, Cal Petersen and even Ivan Fedotov to pick up the slack the rest of the way. Although the save percentage plummeted the longer the season went, there were a handful of times when the Flyer goalies dazzled with incredible saves. Here are five of the best saves the Flyer goalies made over the course of 2023-24.
5. Sam Ersson’s toe save on Rangers’ Alexis Lafreniere (February 24, 2024)
With the Flyers needing any points they could gather as the playoff race tightened and the gap from the haves and have nots dwindled, the New York Rangers and their fans tried to impose their will on the Flyers on Feb. 24. But Ersson was up to the task. As the Rangers set up in the offensive zone on a power play just about halfway through the contest, Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba made a fantastic diagonal cross-ice pass that Lafreniere received behind Flyer defenders Sean Walker and Nick Seeler. Lafreniere looked like he was going to break the 0-0 deadlock but Ersson stretched his lower body to the max as the toe of his left skate stopped Lafreniere’s attempt. The Wells Fargo Center crowd gave Ersson a standing ovation while Ranger fans could be seen holding their heads.
Lafreniere did score on Ersson a few minutes later as the Rangers, who were outshot 40-24 that Saturday afternoon, won the game 2-1. But Ersson’s stop kept the Flyers in the fight against a team who were on a nine-game winning streak going into this tilt.
4. Carter Hart’s game-saving overtime stop on Detroit’s Shayne Gostisbehere (December 22, 2023)
A wild game before Christmas saw the Flyers storm back from a huge deficit, tie the game at five and then score the go-ahead goal with just over five minutes left. Unfortunately Carter Hart miffed a simple shot to put Detroit back on even ground 37 seconds later. Hart atoned for the flub with a game-saving stop with seconds remaining in the three-on-three overtime frame. As the Wings went up ice on an odd-man break, Detroit’s Dylan Larkin was fed a pass from Gostisbehere for a give-and-go. Larkin passed the puck back as Rasmus Ristolainen and Travis Konency tried to defend. Gostisbehere got the pass almost perfectly attempting to shovel it into the net but Hart’s right goal pad kept it out while his goalstick knocked any potential rebound into the corner.
The moral victory didn’t end up in two points as the Flyers lost 7-6 in overtime. But the save kept the Flyers at least with a chance heading into the shootout.
3. Ivan Fedotov’s first breakaway save on Isles’ Matt Barzal (April 1, 2024)
If anyone would’ve told you to start the season that Ivan Fedotov would’ve been in a Flyers uniform as the season wound down you would’ve thought it was an April Fools Day prank. But on April 1, with the Flyers looking listless and Ersson looking like he needed a pillow, coach John Tortorella threw Fedotov into the Isles’ den to start the second period. The Islanders absolutely walked all over the Flyers in the middle frame, outshooting them by a 17-3 margin but Fedotov kept the Flyers in it through putting himself between the puck and the twine. It wasn’t always pretty but it did the trick.
One of the best saves of Fedotov’s late-season stint was five minutes into the second period when the Flyers got caught in deep and on a rather horrid line change, leaving the Isles’ Matt Barzal with plenty of room to score. But his glove high wrister was stopped by Fedotov. Although he didn’t catch the puck, he did what he was supposed to do, resulting in the puck dropping in front of him before holding it for a faceoff. Not the save of the season but given Fedotov’s story and how he was brought in colder than where he was stationed at in Russia, it was a feel good stop at the very least. A breakaway stop was his first stop in the NHL on a night when almost nobody not named John Tortorella believed he’d be playing. But play he did.
Tortorella lambasted the Flyers after the 4-3 overtime loss for their second period effort, adding only one guy showed up in the second period. Left to fend for himself, Fedotov stood tall at least on his first appearance in the NHL, nine years after being drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round (188th overall).
2. Sam Ersson’s breakaway stop on San Jose’s Alexander Barabanov (March 12, 2024)
The San Jose Sharks were not all-world Cup contenders this season, but they did give the Flyers fits this year. San Jose went 11 games to start the season without a win but their first was against Philadelphia. Their second meeting in March in Philadelphia was another close affair that saw Ersson again come up huge when it was needed. With the Flyers caught up ice and somewhat flat-footed, the Sharks were able to toss a pass by Travis Sanheim and Cam York to Alexander Barabanov who was coming in alone. Barabanov went wide to his backhand hoping to see some space between Ersson’s pad and the post. But Ersson’s athleticism again kept the score knotted 2-2
The Flyers won the game 3-2 as Owen Tippett scored the winner roughly a minute after this excellent stop. The win was also the first of the season without John Tortorella behind the bench. The coach was serving the first of a two-game suspension for his refusal to leave the bench against the Lightning in Tampa Bay after receving a game misconduct penalty.
1. Ersson’s huge save on Florida’s Aleksander Barkov (March 7, 2024)
The Flyers battled the Stanley Cup champions for 2023-24 tooth and nail in their contests this year, winning two of the three contests. None were probably more dramatic then their early March game against the Panthers in Florida. With the score knotted at one apiece halfway through the second, the Panthers went on the powerplay. Bringing the puck over their own blueline, the Panthers’ Sam Reinhart started a give-and-go, receiving a pass in the slot area as Travis Konecny lagged behind. Reinhart fed a stellar pass across to Aleksander Barkov for what appeared to be a certain goal.
But again, Ersson was up to the challenge, sticking out his right pad tenths of a second before he was moving in the opposite direction, stoning Barkov and keeping things at one goal each. The save was huge as late in the third Garnet Hathaway scored the game winner, putting the puck past the Panthers as a maze of broken sticks were all over the Panthers’ zone. The win also made many believe the playoffs were not just a possibility but almost a guarantee for the Flyers with roughly five weeks left. But we all know how it turned out.
