Ersson’s Stellar Play and Zegras Overtime Goal Beats Stars as Flyers Move to Within 2 of a Playoff Spot
Mar 29, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Trevor Zegras (46) reacts after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars in overtime at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
The Flyers moved within two points of a playoff spot Sunday night after Trevor Zegras secured a 2-1 overtime victory against the Dallas Stars. You saw the franchise trajectory change before the opening faceoff with the signing of top prospect Porter Martone signaling the future of the organization has finally arrived for a franchise starved for a young superstar player.
The first period was played close, and the pace bounced back and forth between the offensive zones while both goalies made solid saves to keep the game tied at zero. The second period opened up the Flyers’ forecheck, and the pressure forced Dallas into penalties. You saw the team take advantage of two things they have struggled with all year, and that was scoring first and scoring on the power play when Matvei Michkov found Travis Konecny for a beautiful goal past Casey DeSmith. Arttu Hyry intercepted a bad pass later in the period on the Flyers’ power play and went the other way to rip a shot by Samuel Ersson for his first NHL goal to make it 1-1.
That score held until overtime when the Flyers cycled the puck better than the Stars and gave Zegras the chance to tie his career high in goals. The 2-1 win has the Flyers 12-3-1 over their last 16 games, and puts them at 86 points, leaving them two behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final playoff spot.
The Ups and Downs of Flyers Special Teams Play Tonight
One of the hallmarks of the season thus far has been the play of the Flyers on special teams. They’ve played well on the penalty kill this season, but the power play, on the other hand, has been abysmal. Tonight, the Flyers’ power play took full advantage of the Stars’ careless play and scored on the power play to open the scoring.
The Flyers scoring the first goal on the power play has only happened one other time this season, and that was on October 11, 2025, against the Carolina Hurricanes. While that is something to celebrate, on the next Flyers power play, Hyry took advantage of the Flyers’ aggressiveness and pushed the puck the other way and had a clear shot at Ersson, who had no chance at a save on it. While the Flyers looked improved recently on the power play, it’s obvious there is still some work to be done if they plan to make noise in the playoffs.
The Porter Martone Effect
While the operations team was still preparing the arena for tonight’s extremely important matchup with Dallas, who has been one of the best teams in the NHL this season, the Flyers made it official, signing the sixth pick in the 2025 draft, Martone, to his entry-level contract, officially jump-starting Martone watch. Martone being in the building tonight with Briere and Keith Jones smiling shows just how much the signing of Porter Martone means to the Flyers for the rest of the season.
While the Flyers are playing maybe their most inspired hockey of the season, bringing in someone who is so electric on the ice should ignite a fire in many of the teams, which can’t hurt, given where this team is.
Though his Michigan State team was eliminated from the Frozen Four, he may get to do something more substantial than finish his college career with a championship, that is, to take his professional team over the top and get them into the playoffs.
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Ersson Stands Tall Tonight
The fact that the Flyers got a point at all is on the shoulders of Ersson, who made several incredible saves tonight, including possibly his best single save of the season as regulation wound down. He made save after save all season, with the degree of difficulty increasing with each save. The reason he played so well tonight was that he controlled the rebounds so well and rarely gave the Stars a second shot. This has been a massive part of why he has turned around his season.
Ersson’s play has been up and down this season, particularly down when Vladar was hurt at the end of 2025, but he has addressed all of the issues. He doesn’t look lethargic on the ice; he’s controlling rebounds, and most importantly, staying in position all game. If you had told me in December that Ersson would be the second star on a game where the playoffs were on the line, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are. Great game for the Flyers, and that starts between the pipes like it did tonight.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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