Flyers’ Samuel Ersson has strong preseason debut in battle for backup goalie job

ELMONT, N.Y. — Whether anyone at the top of the organization has expressly communicated to Samuel Ersson, Felix Sandstrom and Cal Petersen that the Philadelphia Flyers’ backup goalie job is an open competition is unclear. Even Ian Laperriere, acting as the head coach for the first two preseason games, shrugged his shoulders and exhibited a quizzical look when asked about it Wednesday night after the Flyers’ 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena.

“I don’t know what message was relayed, but they know. They’re not dumb. They know what’s going on,” Laperriere said.

Through two games, each of the three hopefuls has played two periods. Petersen got the first two Monday in the 6-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils, allowing five goals before Sandstrom took over in the third, allowing one goal. On Wednesday, Sandstrom started and played the first period before giving the crease to Ersson for the final two.

Both goalies who saw time against the Islanders played well. Sandstrom allowed one goal off a somewhat fluky bounce on the six shots he faced but earlier stopped dangerous chances by Karson Kuhlman and Ruslan Iskhakov about two minutes apart.

Ersson turned aside 12 of 13 shots, allowing only a half-slapper by Julien Gauthier off a broken play to get past him late on an Islanders power play.

“Both guys were solid,” Laperriere said. “I think both guys have been solid all camp. … Two really capable goaltenders. They keep improving every day. It’s going to be a tough competition, that’s for sure.”

Ryan Poehling, the Flyers’ lone goal scorer of the preseason, said: “They did their job, especially on the PK. They shut the door quite well there.”

GOAL!

Ryan Poehling tallies our first of the preseason in the closing moments of #PHIvsNYI, cutting the Islanders lead in half. pic.twitter.com/9AtmAe7Izq

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 28, 2023

In a vacuum, Ersson would probably be the odds-on favorite for the job after he was the better of the three goalies last season, judging from traditional and advanced stats. His 1.7 goals saved above expected in 12 NHL games, according to MoneyPuck, was much better than Sandstrom’s minus-11.8 in 20 games and Petersen’s minus-9.3 in 10 games with the Los Angeles Kings before he was waived and reassigned to AHL Ontario.

But the 23-year-old Ersson is also the only one of the three still exempt from waivers. That’s not going to be an issue for Petersen, as no NHL team would ever take on his $5 million salary for the next two seasons, but it might be for Sandstrom, particularly if any teams suffer injuries at that position between now and opening night.

In other words, the bar might be just a tad higher for Ersson if he’s going to be the one backing up Carter Hart on Oct. 12 in Columbus, provided Hart is available to play. Ersson is approaching camp with the attitude that he still has more to prove — which, of course, he does, with only a dozen NHL games played.

“I did something good last year, and I’m proud of that, and I kind of put myself in a better situation for this year. But I know that doesn’t really mean anything coming into this year,” Ersson said. “I still have to fight for everything. If I want to be up here with the big team, I’ve got to prove it.”

Does that bring any pressure?

“It’s fun,” he said. “You want to be a pro hockey player, you want to feel that little bit (of) nervousness throughout games, practices, everything. It’s really fun going to work. You know every day means a lot.”

While Ersson is off to a solid start, evaluating the other two is a bit more difficult. Sandstrom entered Monday’s game when it was already a rout and when the Devils’ veterans probably let their feet off the gas.

“I’m battling to get a shot here,” Sandstrom said after Wednesday’s game. “I know the other guys are, too. We’re just battling hard every day. At the end of the day, I want to play as many games as I can. That’s where my focus is. Play as good as I can and show that I deserve a spot on the team.”

Petersen, of course, is the reclamation project after so quickly and stunningly falling out of favor with the Kings. The once-presumed heir to Jonathan Quick probably needs to do more at the AHL level before he’s considered for a recall, as his numbers with Ontario last season after his reassignment — 2.88 goals-against average and .904 save percentage in 40 games — were just so-so.

Still, the fact he let in five goals on 24 shots Monday night probably won’t be held against him that much. The Flyers were lethargic from John Tortorella’s grueling camp and sloppy from not practicing much system play, hanging Petersen out to dry on, really, all the shots that beat him.

“Can you really blame (him for) those tap-ins? Holy cow,” Laperriere said Monday. “I feel for him. It was a tough start for the team. He couldn’t do anything on those goals. He’s going to be fine.”

Petersen was asked whether it was difficult for him to gauge his performance after not getting much support.

“I think I have the ability to stop every goal. I want to do that for my teammates,” he said. “I’m going to look at those and look at what I could have done to make those saves, and sometimes you do things right and the puck still goes in. But I think there’s still a chance, whether it’s a better read or whether I can process the play a little bit better …

“That’s what this time of the year is for, to look at those things, analyze and not get caught up really too much in the result.”

True, the results might not matter all that much just yet, as the Flyers still haven’t dressed anything close to their opening-night lineup. But they will at some point, as the six-game preseason slate continues Friday in Boston.

All three goalies could get more preseason game action, which, according to Laperriere, is “only healthy for everybody.”