After notching his second straight victory Tuesday night, Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson is being labelled as day-to-day ahead of their next contest on Thursday night, according to head coach Rick Tocchet.
After having lost early season starts to his tandem partner, Dan Vladař, Ersson was awarded back-to-back starts for the first time this season and delivered consecutive shootout victories against the New York Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Unfortunately, the Swedish netminder suffered an undisclosed injury after apparently tweaking something despite finishing the game. Tocchet doesn’t believe the injury is serious but with the Flyers playing again Thursday, he’s questionable at best.
Ersson has had a bit of a rocky start with a .876 SV% and a 3.08 GAA, but most of that damage came in their one stinker of a loss against Winnipeg, where he allowed 4 goals on 14 shots. Apart from a shaky opening goal on Tuesday, it’s fair to say that was his best game to date, which makes the injury that much more unfortunate.
While it is great news that the head coach doesn’t think it’s a serious injury, the Flyers don’t have the greatest track record when it comes to being positive about injuries, and Ersson sustained a couple lower-body injuries last year.
With the undisclosed umbrella term surrounding his injury, we don’t know if it’s a new injury or a reoccurrence of his previous lower-body injuries. What we do know is that the Flyers have a capable netminder in Vladař, who can steer the ship for the time being.
The Flyers are in the midst of a 5-game homestand, having won the first two games via a shootout. They host the Nashville Predators on Thursday, the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, and then the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
It’s conceivable that Tocchet could roll with Vladař in the first two contests before making an official ruling on Ersson ahead of the second leg of their weekend back-to-back slate.
Signed as a free agent after having spent the previous four seasons in Calgary, Vladař has posted a 3-2-0 record through his first 5 games with the Orange and Black, while also compiling a .932 SV% and a 1.81 GAA. In his 2 losses, he allowed just 4 goals on 67 shots as the Flyers could only muster up a combined 2 goals.
It’s been a fantastic start to the season and one the Flyers hope can continue with or without Ersson. With the Flyers keeping their cards very close to their chest, we probably won’t find out until morning skate, but should Ersson miss any time, Aleksei Kolosov should earn his first call-up of the season.
The Belarusian netminder has enjoyed a good start to his 2025-26 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, having posted a 3-2-0 record with a .918 SV% and a 2.60 GAA with 1 shutout.
His backup, prospect Carson Bjarnason, has also done pretty well with a 1-1-1 record, .910 SV% and a 2.53 GAA in his first 3 games, and would likely carry the load if Kolosov were to receive a call-up to the NHL.
