PHILADELPHIA – Sam Ersson seems to save his best work for the biggest moments.
That contention was on display in Saturday afternoon’s shootout between the Flyers and the New York Islanders.
Regulation time ended in a 3-3 tie at the Wells Fargo Center and five minutes of overtime did not produce a decision either.
Even the shootout’s normal three one-on-one skaters per side didn’t offer a verdict.
Then Ersson, the Flyers’ top goaltender at the moment, squared off for extra work against New York’s Marcus Hogberg.
Not until the Flyers’ Bobby Brink scored in the fifth round was the game finally decided for a 4-3 Flyers’ victory.
Ersson now has a record of 4-1 in shootouts this season and has stopped 18 of 22 shots overall for an .818 save percentage. That’s fifth-best in the National Hockey League.
Flyers interim coach Brad Shaw likes the way his goaltender steps up to meet the biggest instance in these close encounters. Philadelphia is now 6-3 in shootouts this season.
“I thought he was good all game, I liked him in the shootout,” Shaw said. “He had a little bit of swagger and I like that.”
In regulation time and overtime, Ersson stopped 37 of 40 shots. So it wasn’t like he was all that fresh for the shootout.
“When you see that (swagger) from Sam, it usually goes well for how many pucks he’s going to stop,” the coach said.
Ersson was all smiles as he answered questions about his performance. He’s now 22-16-5 overall, not bad for a team which is only 33-37-9.
The 5-1 team record under Shaw makes the whole situation a lot more fun and easier to play.
“Obviously winning makes things easier,” Ersson said. “We’re trying to end the season on a high note. It brings some good work habits and some good feelings into the offseason. Something to build on going into next year.”
Giving extra effort for Shaw probably helps, too.
“I think everybody is still trying to work on their own game,” Ersson said. “Get better. I think that’s a huge part of it. And having some pride playing for the Flyers logo. That’s why we want to do something good with the games we have left.”
