Flyers Record First Shut Out of the Year Over the Bruins
Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson, right, drops to the ice to make a save on a shot by Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak during the first period Tuesday night at TD Garden. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Well, that was a nice surprise.
Not the Flyers beat the Bruins in Boston, because while there certainly is a talent discrepancy between these two clubs, Boston’s 4-4-1 prior to this game showed that they certainly weren’t unbeatable. The surprise came rather and how the Flyers won this game: with their defense and goaltending. These two components were so good in fact that the Flyers were able to keep the Bruins off the scoreboard entirely, as they would win this game 2-0.
Naturally in a shut-out, the first thing you want to look at is the goaltending, and in this game Samuel Ersson was excellent. Ersson was a perfect 23/23 on save opportunities, which included four power play opportunities for Boston.
Defensively the Flyers also looked great, blocking 23 shots compared to just 11 from the Bruins. Captain Sean Couturier continues to lead by example and show why he is a Selke Trophy recipient by leading the way for the forwards with these four blocks. For the defensemen, Travis Sanheim, Jamie Drysdale, and Nick Seeler were also creditors with four blocks each.
The first period ended the same way it began, 0-0. It wouldn’t be until five minutes into the second period that someone would find the back of the net. That someone would end up being Tyson Foerster, marking his second goal of the year. Foerster was one of Philadelphia’s most explosive offensive players last year and a key piece to this rebuild, so seeing him score a nice goal like this was a promising sign.
After the Foerster goal, both offenses would go quiet again for virtually the rest of the game. It wasn’t until Boston pulled goalie Joonas Korpisalo that Joel Farabee was able to score the empty netter and secure the victory for the Flyers.
Make no mistake, Korpisalo played very well in this game, but Ersson simply played better. If he can consistently continue to string together games like this there is a very real chance he could be the goalie of the future for this team.
The Flyers’ next game will be at home against the St. Louis Blues at 7 pm EST. The game can be watched on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
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Bo Lynett
Bo has been a fan of Philly sports his whole life and has spent the entirety of his four years at Colgate University working to start a career in sports media. Double majoring in Economics and Film & Media Studies gave him the opportunity to study both the financial/ analytical and broadcasting/ production sides of the sports world. Outside of the classroom, he’s worked as a director and producer for Colgate’s athletic events streamed on ESPN+ and a writer for the Colgate Athletic Website. Through all of this, however, it was his love of Philly sports that drove him to this career.
