With 32 saves and his sixth win of the season, Samuel Ersson was stellar in goal as the Flyers snapped a four-game slide with their 4-3 victory in Calgary Monday afternoon. The Flyers goaltender also made a bit of history in this one as well; Ersson (6-0-0 in 9 GP) became the 11th goaltender in NHL history to win each of his first six career decisions, joining Martin Jones (8-0-0), Viktor Fasth (8-0-0), Bob Froese (8-0-0), Dan Ellis (7-0-0), Wayne Thomas (7-0-0), Spencer Knight, (6-0-0) Frederik Andersen (6-0-0), Damian Rhodes (6-0-0) Ken Dryden (6-0-0) and Frank McCool (6-0-0), per NHL stats.
The Flames dictated pace and play for most of the afternoon and get several high-quality looks at the net, but Philly counter punched well. The Flyers received goals from Travis Konecny (27th) on an outstanding solo effort, Nick Deslauriers (4th), Tony DeAngelo (10th), and Wade Allison (8th). Konecny left the game early due to injury and did not return for the third period after a hard collision with Calgary defensemen Mackenzie Weegar, which goes without saying is a vital blow to a Flyers team not flush with offensive weaponry this season.
Beyond the game itself, there was quite a bit of drama surrounding it prior to puck drop and then of course, during. Flyers’ defensemen Travis Sanheim found himself in the press box as a healthy scratch, while forward Joel Farabee logged a meager 3:52 TOI and was staple-gunned to the bench in the third period. The Flyers were already down a forward due to the Konecny injury and that’s rather telling that bench boss John Tortortella would choose to shorten up the bench even further.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned this season of the Tortorella-led Flyers is no player is immune of criticism or a benching if there play warrants it. Overall, Travis Sanheim’s season has been spotty, but he was outright bad in Vancouver on Saturday night. Farabee, on the other hand, has also had an up-and-down campaign and has been rather quiet in the offensive zone the last handful of games. It’ll be interesting to see how both players respond to the message because it was a resounding one.
Did you know?
Tony DeAngelo scored his 10th goal of the season in the win. He’s the first defensemen to do so in his first campaign with the Flyers since Michael Del Zotto did it back in 2014-15, per NHL stats.
The Flyers will have a quick turnaround, as they visit the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow evening for a 9:00 p.m. EST puck drop.
