Sam Ersson’s family had never seen him play in an NHL game.

His parents, Hans and Lena, have been here all week, flying in so Hans could be part of the Flyers’ annual dads’ trip to Nashville. But the rest of his family, brothers Marcus and Axel, and sisters Lisbet and Kerstin, all flew in from Falun, Sweden, joining his girlfriend Olivia to see the Flyers play the Red Wings Saturday night.

The thing is, Ersson wasn’t expecting to start, although he knew there was a chance.

Starting goalie Carter Hart missed a game Thursday against Washington with an illness, forcing Ersson to make an unexpected start. With Hart recovering, Ersson knew there was a chance he’d play again Saturday and he wanted to make the most of it with the entire family in town.

Boy, did he ever.

Ersson made 33 saves, and the Flyers needed every one of them, as Ersson picked up his second shutout this season and third of his career in a 1-0 victory over a Detroit team the Flyers expect to be battling for playoff positioning in a few months.

Ersson said it was special for him with his family all together to see him for the first time. And he was sensational, especially in the third period when the ice was lopsided and the Red Wings were pressuring the Flyers trying to get the tying goal.

But Ersson was perfect for the night. He is most impressive at tracking pucks through traffic. He always seems to be in position to make a save on a shot he can’t see or to get a piece of the puck on a deflection or a re-direction.

And he has a calm, cool demeanor whenever he is on the ice. He’s definitely a slow heartbeat type of goalie, not letting any moment get too big for him.


What’s most impressive about Ersson is how he overcame some early season struggles.

Ersson was admittedly not good in his first two starts. In the nine starts since, he is 7-1-1 with a 1.84 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.

“It was tough sledding for him a bit there and he readily admitted it,” coach John Tortorella said after the shutout. “But that’s what I like about Sam. I remember listening to him when he had some struggles and he knew that he needed to be better. He knew he was better.”

Boy has he been.

Among all goalies who have played in at least 10 games this season, only four teams have both their starter and backup in the top 20 in goals against average:

  1. Vegas – Adin Hill (1.87 – 1st), Logan Thompson (2.49 – 11th)
  2. Boston – Jeremy Swayman (2.06 – 3rd), Linus Ullmark (2.79 – 19th)
  3. Vancouver – Thatcher Demko (2.30 – 5th), Casey DeSmith (2.48 – 10th)
  4. FLYERS – Carter Hart (2.42 – 8th), Sam Ersson (2.57 – 13th)

Keep in mind, there are 56 goalies who qualify under this statistical measure, and Ersson is 13th – meaning he has a better goals against average than starters on 22 NHL teams.

And yes, a goalie’s goals against average is influenced somewhat by team defense, so a better measure of a goalie’s individual contribution is his save percentage. and while Ersson’s save percentage isn’t nearly as impressive (.897), keep in mind that it is hampered by those first two games in which he allowed 12 goals on 50 shots. So, if you use every other start, which has been since Nov. 1, Ersson has allowed just 19 goals on 252 shots. And that save percentage is better than every goalie in hockey except for Hill and Swayman – the goalies for the teams with the two best records in the sport.

“He was so solid for us tonight,” said defenseman Nick Seeler. “He did an amazing job. All year, both goalies have given us a chance to win each night and that’s all you can ask for.”

Multiple sources from within the organization told me last season that there was a belief that Ersson had No. 1 goalie potential in the NHL.

That belief has not changed, but when you have a No. 1 playing as well as Hart has played this season, Ersson has to remain a No. 2. But that’s a great situation for the Flyers.


It’s the primary reason the Flyers find themselves with a surprising 17-10-3 record after 30 games and their 37 points has them sitting in second place in the Metropolitan Division and four points ahead of the New Jersey Devils, who currently are the first team out of a playoff spot.

It’s still too early to talk about the playoffs, but it’s gotten to the point where the Flyers are going to be interesting all season and not just be a rebuild-in-obscurity type of season.

Excellent goaltending from your top guy can help make your team interesting, but when you have two top guys, well, you can become far more than just interesting, and quickly.