The Flyers get themselves back in the win column with a shootout win over the Canadiens. Six different players registered a point for Philadelphia in the win, while goaltender Sam Ersson made 17 saves. Let’s wrap:
Jamie Drysdale Impressive in First Game
New kid on the block Jamie Drysdale wasted little time settling in his new environment on Wednesday. The 21 year-old defensemen logged 19:46 of total time on ice and showed a glimpse of what he’s capable of. Many of the things that made Drysdale the 6th overall pick in the NHL Draft in 2020 were on display tonight; the fluid four directional skating ability, the offensive zone vision and hockey sense all leapt off the page in this one. It’s likely their will be some peaks and valley’s for the rest of the season, but tonight was encouraging.
Sam I Am
Sam Ersson went 3-for-3 in the Flyers shootout win and even stopped a late overtime breakaway on Josh Anderson just before the buzzer. The Swedish netminder displayed excellent patience in the one-on-one situations and frankly, has been rock solid in that category all year. Moreover, Ersson became the eighth goaltender in Flyers history to win at least 16 of his first 30 career starts with the franchise in the win.
For all the years the Flyers suffered with an inadequate goaltending, it now has seemingly become a strength of the organization.
Did You Know?
At 21 years and 277 days, the newly-acquired Jamie Drysdale is the youngest Flyers defenseman with a point in his franchise debut since Ivan Provorov (19 years, 275 days) collected an assist on Oct. 14, 2016, according to NHL stats.
On Deck
The Flyers return to action on Friday, when they take on the Minnesota Wild in the state of hockey, 8:00 p.m. puckdrop.
