The Philadelphia Flyers had arguably their gutsiest effort of the entire season against the Florida Panthers, a team that had won 16 of their last 18 games. Without four key defensemen in their lineup that they’ve been used to having, they won on a late third-period goal to beat the NHL’s best team in terms of points 2-1. Moving to 33-23-8 on the season, what were some takeaways?
Hathaway Continues to Perform
Ever since Garnet Hathaway got moved up from the Flyers’ fourth line around the start of February, things have been clicking for him. On the third line with Noah Cates and Ryan Poehling, he has unlocked a new part of his game. He has been hitting more, shooting more, and in this game’s case, scoring more. He notched what could be argued as the Flyers’ most clutch goal of the season thus far with 21 seconds and some change left in regulation to give Philadelphia a 2-1 lead.
No doubt about it, Hathaway has been fantastic recently. His on-ice results have been great, and the eye test backs that up. For almost the entire season, he was put on the fourth line alongside Nicolas Deslauriers and a couple of rotating centermen. And that didn’t really work out. But an increase in ice time has actually helped him, not hurt him. Against tougher competition, he has done exceptionally well.
Hathaway has been one of the Flyers’ unsung heroes this season. Sure, it wasn’t great early on, but he has legitimately been one of the team’s best players ever since his increase in ice time in February. His fellow linemate, Poehling, scored the first goal for the Flyers, giving Hathaway a plus-2 rating on the night. He has stepped up both offensively and defensively — the Flyers wouldn’t be the same without his services.
No Defense, No Problem
Prior to this game, the Flyers traded 29-year-old defenseman Sean Walker, who was arguably the team’s best defenseman on the roster. Sure, he didn’t play top-pairing minutes like Cam York or Travis Sanheim, but he was the perfect all-around defender. He was involved in transition, could block shots when needed, and could score goals. The Flyers should be happy that they got a first-round pick for him, but the roster took a blow. Unfortunately, that was just the tip of the iceberg.
In addition, defensemen Nick Seeler, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Jamie Drysdale are all currently on injured reserve. That meant the Flyers had a defense with York, Sanheim, Egor Zamula, Marc Staal, and American Hockey League (AHL) call-ups Adam Ginning and Ronnie Attard. At least on paper, that’s more of a rebuilder’s defense than one of a team that hopes to go to the postseason. Nonetheless, the Flyers got the win.
Ginning, 24, didn’t have the greatest on-ice stats, but he helped get the job done for the Flyers. As for Attard, 24, he was actually fairly solid. Both of them came in on such short notice and were at least good enough to help Philadelphia get a win, and that’s all that really matters. It’s a lot to ask of them to do that. From the eye test, both of them were pretty active and even jumped up in the play at times. They did everything the Flyers and head coach John Tortorella want out of their defenders, which is at least a good sign.
Related: Flyers’ Buy-Low Options to Replace Seeler & Walker
Staal, 37, could be the next defender on the way out for the Flyers. If they get a good offer at the trade deadline, they’ll have to consider shipping him off. At the same time, however, they could be looking to bring a player in for cheap. Especially if said player has a contract going into next season, that might be something Philadelphia looks at. The trade deadline ends on March 8 at 3 PM EST.
Can Ersson Keep it Up?
If the Flyers don’t make a move, goaltender Sam Ersson will have to perform just like he did in this game pretty often. Their next nine games consist of eight playoff teams, putting him and the team in a bit of a pickle. There are some high-powered offenses in that stretch, so the 24-year-old goaltender will be the key to wins. He was certainly so in this game, stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced.
Regardless of whether or not the Flyers have had good defense, they’ve heavily relied on Ersson. But this next stretch might be tough for him. He was sensational against the Panthers and their best player in the game, but he is still just a rookie. He will be facing some high-quality teams in a short amount of time. Will he be able to prevail?
Now, the Flyers’ offense will have to help Ersson out a bit. They got the win, but two goals just won’t cut it on most nights. They’ll have to find their scoring touch a bit, but they’ll also need elite goaltending — two things can be true at once. It will be a collective effort, but the hope is that Ersson can stay at his current level. If he can, the Flyers’ playoff hopes should remain reasonable through the month of March.
Up next, the Flyers will visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 9 to close out their season series. Tampa Bay won the first game 6-3 while the Flyers won the second 6-2, so this last one will determine the victor overall. The Lightning are a sensational team with a very strong offense, adding to it with the addition of Anthony Duclair in the middle of the Flyers’ game against the Panthers. It’ll be another huge test, but a win would mean a lot for the playoff race. Both teams have 64 games played this season, with the Flyers having 74 points and the Lightning sitting at 72.