The competition amongst Flyers' goalies may be a recipe for success

A recurring theme in Flyers' GM Danny Briere's press availability this season has revolved around the idea of healthy competition. In other words, he feels there should be a substantial amount of internal competition among all players: rookies and veterans alike. Although there are some examples of this between players fighting for special teams minutes, there is one head-to-head matchup currently unfolding within the Flyers' goaltending crease.

Yes, discussing Flyers' goaltenders is the least favorite pastime of many fans and journalists alike, especially after a tumultuous goaltending carousel that reared its ugly head during the 2024-25 season. Throughout training camp, many felt that the tandem of Dan Vladar and Sam Ersson would prove to be only a slight improvement over the goaltending the team received last year. Both Vladar and Ersson have shown they're capable of the responsibilities expected of starting NHL goaltenders, but neither has achieved results indicating they are up to the task.

However, they're both at the point in their careers where it's "make or break" time after having several seasons to acclimate to the NHL. At the age of 25, Ersson has been riddled with lower-body injuries throughout his career, and 28-year-old Vladar has found himself in the shadows of elite goaltenders such as Tuukka Rask in Boston and Dustin Wolf in Calgary.

In Philadelphia, the crease is open for the taking (to put it lightly). Not only do the Orange and Black not have a franchise goaltender, but they're forced to buy time until perhaps one of their prospects can make a push for the number one job. Regardless, Ersson and Vladar are both trying to prove to the front office, coaches, and fans that they can shoulder the workload of a starting NHL goalie, while also having the desirable statistics to prove it.

Before the 2025-26 season opener, Rich Tocchet threw what many would deem a curveball in giving Dan Vladar the start against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise. In all fairness, Vladar did seem to slightly outplay Ersson during pre-season action, and perhaps Tocchet was looking to light a fire under Ersson to up his game. In hindsight, his decision has seemed to pay dividends for the Flyers. Although the team only mustered one point in the two-game road trip against Florida and Carolina, both netminders played exceptionally well and gave the team a chance to win on both Thursday and Saturday (even if the skaters may not have earned it).

During the Flyers/Panthers game on Thursday, the team got off to an exceptionally slow start, yet Vladar stopped all 13 shots he faced in the opening frame. In the second period, he added an additional 11 saves until surrendering a power play goal before stopping 9/10 shots in the third. Not only was his performance steadying, but also consistent for the entire sixty minutes. Vladar was also moving post-to-post exceptionally well for an oversized goalie, and it showed on the stat sheet.

On Saturday, Ersson backstopped the Flyers, helping to earn their first point of the 2024-25 season. Similar to the game on Thursday, the Flyers started the game getting thoroughly outplayed. Ersson stopped all 15 shots he faced in the first period, 9/12 in the second, and shut out the Canes in the third period. Ultimately, the game-winning goal scored by Seth Jarvis was a perfectly placed, one-time blast from the top of the circle in OT.

All in all, Ersson stopped 35/39 shots, most of which were fairly challenging. Ranging from breakaways to point-blank shots in the slot, he stood tall, allowing minimal rebounds with skillful positioning, thus challenging the Hurricanes' lethal shooters. Honestly, fans haven't seen this much "fight" in Ersson's game since he was vying with Carter Hart for playing time in the 2023-2024 season, before Hart's indefinite leave of absence from the team.

If Flyers fans are looking for some tangible indication of a positive trend their team's goalies have shown in the early stages of the season, take a look at this chart courtesy of Moneypuck. Yes, it's only been two games into the 2024-25 season. With that being said, the two Flyers' net minders have been outplaying the likes of Sergei Bobrovsky and Connor Hellebuyck.

Needless to say, seeing the Flyers' goalies ranked towards the top of any statistics is a welcome change from where the goaltending corps found themselves last season - at the very bottom. Time will tell if the duo of #33 and #80 can continue to give the Flyers a chance to win each night. As for how many games each goalie starts, that's for head coach Rick Tocchet and likely goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh to decide.