VOORHEES, N.J. — The timing, it seemed, couldn’t have been worse. Sam Ersson, then the Philadelphia Flyers’ only reliable option in net, left practice early on Nov. 13 after re-aggravating a groin injury that had sidelined him for two games a week prior. Not only was Ersson playing well — 3-0-1 with a .940 save percentage and 1.63 goals-against average in his previous four starts — but struggling backups Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov looked like they weren’t NHL caliber.
But then hockey happened. The Flyers not only survived without Ersson, but they thrived to the tune of a 6-2-1 mark, sixth-best in the NHL since then headed into Tuesday night’s games. As Ersson looks primed to make his return to the net on Thursday at home against the Florida Panthers, he could give a boost to a team that, like last season, may end up battling for playoff position the rest of the way.
Let’s take a broader look at how they managed without the 25-year-old Ersson — still their undisputed No. 1 — and how they might be able to build now that he’s back.
Fedotov, Kolosov find their games
Since Ersson’s injury Fedotov and Kolosov have combined for a .906 save percentage, sixth in the NHL. Their .929 save percentage at five-on-five is also sixth.
Yes, the Flyers have played better defensively and more as a group (we’ll get to that). But the two backups have registered a .933 save percentage on high-danger chances at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick, the second-best mark in the league since Nov. 13. They’re making some difficult stops.
To be clear, no one should be suggesting yet that either goalie has “arrived” in the NHL. They still have to show they can be consistent over time. But coach John Tortorella surely feels much more comfortable with his backup goaltending situation now than he did a month ago.
“I think Koly and Feds have really stepped (up),” Tortorella said. “It was worrisome when we lost Sam. But we still need to see more, as we play more and more games along the way to really judge what a goalie is.”
For now at least the Flyers will continue carrying all three goalies. But at some point soon they’ll have to find a roster spot for Jamie Drysdale, who remains on injured reserve even though he seems to be a full participant in practice lately.
Tortorella admitted that having three goalies around isn’t something he’s interested in for the duration.
“We’ve got to keep evaluating,” he said. “That’s a process of trying to figure out what your tandem is going to be. It’s not ideal to have three around all the time. … Sam is our No. 1 guy. We’ve got to figure out what happens after that as we push through here.”
As for Ersson, he expressed confidence he’ll be able to pick up where he left off. He even seemed to welcome the challenge. Ersson has always seemed like a self-aware kind of guy, and that was evident in his first back-and-forth with the media after Monday’s practice.
“I think I was in a good spot (before getting hurt), but you have to remind yourself, like, I know how to play games, it’s not going to be any different coming back,” he said. “It might be a good thing, too. It will be a challenge for me, but those are the challenges you want to embrace.”
Ristolainen, Andrae emerge as second defense pair
It’s been an ongoing project for Tortorella ever since Sean Walker was traded last March: find a strong second defense pair to skate behind Travis Sanheim and Cam York.
He may have found it. Rasmus Ristolainen and Emil Andrae have been paired together for the past five games, and seem to have chemistry. In nearly 80 minutes together at five-on-five, the Flyers have a 57.1 percent shot-attempt share and 65.6 percent expected-goals share when they’re on the ice. They’ve outscored their opponents 6-2, too.
Andrae’s gotten the bulk of the attention, as a 22-year-old puck mover that could be on his way to establishing himself as a future cornerstone. But Ristolainen has been outstanding, too and has points in four of his last five games playing with Andrae (4 assists).
“I feel I’m in a pretty good spot and lately I feel like it’s been going pretty well,” Ristolainen said.
After Ersson’s injury, Tortorella had a discussion with the group about their style of play. No, he didn’t want them to focus more on playing defense in front of two inexperienced goalies. Just the opposite, actually.
“We wanted to check forward even more,” Tortorella said. “We went the other way with it. We want to try to get out of our end zone and stay out of our end zone as best we can.”
That’s perhaps best reflected by the play of Andrae and Ristolainen.
“I love the way they’re stood up. They’re up the ice, ” Tortorella said. “Emil has the mindset, he loves it. He’s going to go. And Risto has really improved his game. I’ve said it all along just with his legs, he’s skating with the puck and he’s skating without it.”
The end result has been a Flyers team that seems to be in a good place defensively; prior to Ersson’s injury, the Flyers were allowing 3.08 expected goals per game; since then they’re down to 2.67. Something else that’s helped is staying out of the penalty box. Since Nov. 13, the Flyers have been short-handed for just 28 minutes and 29 seconds, the second-lowest total in the league. That’s helped to cancel out the fact that the power play has been a league-worst 8.7 percent over that span.
At some point, the Flyers may face a similar decision with Ristolainen as they did last year with Walker: Keep the player around for what could be a playoff chase, or try and deal him for future assets?
Ristolainen isn’t thinking about that, though.
“I control the things I can control. I haven’t really read or heard much,” he said. “I just get in my work, go home, recover. Live in the moment.”
Overtime success
It’s to the point now where all eyes are going to be on No. 39 whenever the Flyers reach overtime. Matvei Michkov’s three overtime goals this season — all since Ersson’s injury — have given the team some needed points as they’re still dead last in the league with just five regulation wins. Even the Sharks and Blackhawks have six apiece.
Still, Tortorella wants to see the Flyers be a little more aware defensively at three-on-three, even with a 3-1 mark in games decided in overtime.
“We’re going to do some work at three-on-three because we have no clue without the puck. None,” he said. “We score the other night (in St. Louis) but we have no clue what’s coming at us when (Robert) Thomas basically almost walks in for a breakaway through three of us. … We still have to learn how to play three-on-three.”
Counter-argument: don’t tinker too much with what seems to be a good thing. Tortorella gets that, to a point.
“Mich is fantastic at scoring the goals; T.K. is the same way, he’s an idiot too as far as defending,” Tortorella said. “I’ve got to let them be themselves. But we’ve got to figure out some way to make sure we’re also defending just a little bit.”
(Top photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
