The Philadelphia Flyers will be missing their starting goalie for at least a week, while their top center may be returning soon.
As reported by Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, Sam Ersson’s injury is not considered serious, but he is expected to be sidelined for a short period. Meanwhile, Sean Couturier’s status has been upgraded to questionable, and he could potentially make his return as soon as Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres.
Sam Ersson missed a few games last week after aggravating an injury sustained against the Boston Bruins, which led to Aleksei Kolosov and Ivan Fedotov filling in as the Flyers’ goaltenders. Ersson re-injured the same issue during practice on Wednesday, causing him to miss a scheduled start, and he’s expected to be sidelined for at least another week or two.
Ersson’s start to the 2024-25 season was shaky, but he found his stride following a shutout against the Bruins at the end of October. In the four games since (excluding the brief seven minutes he played in his second game against Boston), he posted a .940 save percentage and a 1.75 goals-against average. This is a reflection of his performance last season, when he struggled early on but became one of the league’s top goaltenders for a few months before fatigue set in. Given Ersson’s importance to the team and the inconsistency of the goaltending behind him—there’s no reason to rush his recovery.
With Ersson out, the Flyers were nearing a roster crunch, as Cam York is almost ready to return, and Jamie Drysdale is also on the horizon. Meanwhile, players like Emil Andrae and Anthony Richard have been performing too well to be sent back to the AHL. The Flyers were facing tough decisions, especially with Kolosov potentially wanting to be loaned back to Russia if sent down, and Fedotov, despite struggling earlier, now coming off two consecutive wins. With limited roster spots and uncertainty in goal, it seemed likely one of the two would be reassigned to the AHL.
However, Ersson’s injury allows the Flyers to delay that decision. With him out for at least a week or two, Fedotov and Kolosov will split the goaltending duties, giving both a chance to prove they deserve an NHL spot. Kolosov, given his youth and potential for development, is more critical to the Flyers’ long-term plans, but Fedotov brings more experience and could be a more stable backup at the NHL level. This period will be crucial for both goalies to show they can handle the NHL workload, or in Kolosov’s case, that he still needs more time to develop in the AHL.
That brings us to Sean Couturier.
Sean Couturier has gone from being considered a potential liability to a key player on the Flyers, now driving play with a 58.37% expected goals share at 5-on-5. While his offensive production has taken a dip, he’s still excelling as a two-way force.
Couturier missed Thursday’s game against the Senators, but according to Kevin Kurz, he is expected to return by Monday. If he’s unable to play tomorrow, Morgan Frost will likely slot into the lineup, as he did against Ottawa though that wasn’t the original plan, as head coach John Tortorella had intended to keep the lineup unchanged (with Frost being a healthy scratch). Frost has been struggling recently and needs to make the most of this opportunity. If he doesn’t, he could find himself back in the press box when Couturier returns.
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