Photo Credit: Our very own Jill Rice
“We saw last year how good he was. He was strong for us when he came in, he gave us a chance. The last two were good shots by good players. We have belief in our goalies,” Scott Laughton said following the game against the Buffalo Sabres last night when asked a question about Samuel Ersson filling in for a period of time, after Carter Hart went down with a mid body injury.
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Samuel Ersson has struggled somewhat, mainly with his timing of saves. He hasn’t been terrible, but he hasn’t made that save either. What I mean is he hasn’t made that momentum save, that turns the page on the game in the Flyers favor.
He was pretty solid in relief of Hart last night, but he gave up another two goals that lead to the Buffalo Sabres winning the game 5-2 (One empty net goal). He was pretty impressive with his rebound control in the pre-season and Ersson made timely saves. Ersson moves laterally from post to post well, and has donned a new goalie mask in the same token this season.
The former Vasteras IK product in Ersson appeared to a confident after his first 12 stints in the NHL. He was 6-3, with a 3.07 GAA, and a .899 Save Percentage to start his NHL career last season. Ersson is agile, and really moved well laterally from post to post. He has a good glove hand, as he snares pucks out of mid air. For his efforts, Ersson earned a 2.00 GAA, and a .930 Save Percentage in his last three starts, and he led the Flyers to a sweep of the California road trip for the first time in franchise history.
This was an unlikely role given to him, with the sickness to Sandström, but he seemed to relish his new role with the Flyers. Ersson really turned some heads in a good way for the Flyers proud faithful, and took this backup goaltending spot by the bullhorns for a short period of time. However, John Tortorella seemed to favor Ersson over Sandström when Felix came back from injury.
“Overall, it was fun being back out there. I’m out here trying to prove that I can help this team win games.” – Samuel Ersson
Winning games is on Tortorella’s mind, as Ersson enjoyed a good brief stint with the Flyers last season. With Ersson serving as Hart’s backup, obviously Tortorella believes that Ersson gives the team the best shot at winning over Sandström. Ersson had a great camp, but an even better in pre-season action. He doesn’t break and looked very composed in net.
The coach and players alike believe in Ersson still, “We all know what Sam (Ersson) is capable of. I’m sure with more ice time or game action it will only help him. We are not worried at all,” Flyers number one defenseman Travis Sanheim stated following the game last night. John Tortorella echoed the same comments as Sanheim, “He has showed us many times that he can bounce back.”
How long will Carter Hart be out is anyone’s guess, but one thing is for certain. Ersson is the backup goaltender for a reason, and now it may be his time to shine.
