5 Flyers players who must bring their A-Game to play meaningful games in March

Samuel Ersson must continue to overachieve through the back half of February

Samuel Ersson will never be a true No. 1 goaltender, but that doesn’t mean he won’t keep overachieving. His last two starts on February 6th and February 8th have shown us he can even put up elite numbers against some of the NHL’s best teams. In those games, the Flyers played the mighty Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets, and Ersson, unfazed, ended up with 48 saves on 50 shots, good for a 0.960 save percentage. 

So far this season, Ersson has also been relatively consistent, snagging an unprecedented three shutouts, 14 wins, a 0.903 save percentage, a 2.47 GAA, and a 0.640 quality starts percentage. For a player who finished with a 0.899 save percentage and 3.07 GAA, Ersson has taken a step forward. And now, he must continue that trend into March and April. 

This isn’t to say Ersson hasn’t had his fair share of rough moments this year. In the four games leading up to his pair of epic performances mentioned earlier, the 24-year-old lost each contest. In those losses, he posted an ugly 0.819 save percentage and just 68 saves on 83 shots on goal. Of course, you can’t entirely blame him as the Flyers struggled as a unit, but it gave him a few opportunities to step up and make some heroic saves; something that did not happen.