Breaking Down Sam Ersson’s November Struggles: Where the Flyers Go From Here
(Heather Cattai/Heather Barry Images, LLC)
There’s no doubt that Philadelphia Flyers’ goaltender Samuel Ersson has had his moments of struggle with the Flyers, as he is now in his fourth season in Philadelphia and in the NHL. Through all that concern, however, there was still hope for the 26-year-old from Sweden, until now, when he still has not found his groove. In all of his stretches in the National Hockey League, his start to November may be the most concerning.
On November 8th, Ersson had a chance to start fresh while the Flyers team came home from a two-win road trip against the Montreal Canadiens and the Nashville Predators, as he and the Flyers would welcome in the struggling Ottawa Senators into Philadelphia.
In that first period, Ersson let in two goals within two minutes of each other. Though the Flyers scored in the second and third period to send the game into overtime after no more got past Ersson, Tim Stutzle would ultimately be the hero for Ottawa and finish Ersson’s day with three goals off of 14 shots, a .786 save percentage.
The situation only got worse for Ersson, as he would get the start in St. Louis in the front half of a back-to-back for the Flyers. With coming off a disappointing overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers and having to play a cup contender in the Dallas Stars the next day, this game could be looked at as a must-win for the Flyers, and Ersson would have to be a huge part in that. Although the Flyers ended up winning that showdown, they snuck away with two points, as Ersson had his worst start of the season.
On 17 shots, Ersson had given up five goals against the Blues. Luckily, the offense in front of him battled back and forced a shootout, where Ersson tends to shine. On three attempts in the shootout, he shut the door on all three and gained back some of that confidence.
In his two games, Ersson had a 3.74 goals against average and a .742 save percentage. This season, he has a 3.30 GAA with a .846 SV% while posting a 3-1-2 record.
With Daniel Vladar starting his season at a Vezina candidate level, and Aleksei Kolosov showing promise in not only the AHL affiliate in the Lehigh Valley Phantoms but also in his short time with the Flyers this season (.929 SV%, 1.62 GAA), there is the thought that the clock on Ersson is ticking, and that he may not have much time left to prove his skills he had once shown for a time. With his trade value going down every game, he may see time in the AHL, with Kolosov replacing him as a possibility if the Flyers are serious about a playoff push.
With the option of dealing off Ersson or sending him down, you lose what seems to be a brick wall in the shootout, which the Flyers have seemed to have a good amount of times this year. That puts the Flyers and Ersson in a difficult spot, but only time can tell how he responds from his start to the month of November.
Luke Raidy
Luke has covering the the Flyers and Phillies for Philly Sports Reports since 2025. He is a junior at North Penn and being a huge Philly sports fan has brought so many experiences, such as going to the NLDS, NLCS, and even the World Series in 2022. He has also met former superstars in the city of Philadelphia, such as Wayne Simmonds from the Flyers. Though being a student-athlete, Luke enjoys his time where he is writing and reporting on Philadelphia sports.
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