Flyers goalie Sam Ersson is No. 1, but Felix Sandström could still see some action between the pipes

WASHINGTON, D.C. — John Tortorella expects to use his backup goalie at least four to five more times across the final 22 games.

Makes sense.

Three of those games are already earmarked. The Flyers have a trio of back-to-back games left on the schedule — including this weekend. After a Friday night showdown with the Washington Capitals (7 p.m., NBCSP), the Flyers host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m., NBCSP).

They need a guy they can count on to come in and stymie the opposition. Two of the three games will be against teams below the Flyers in the standings, which should be a quick two points. The third is a back-to-back with the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers three weekends from now. Yikes.

After Flyers goalie Cal Petersen allowed seven goals on 32 shots in a 7-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon, the netminder was waived and assigned to Lehigh Valley. Felix Sandström was recalled in a subsequent move.

“I just didn’t feel that Cal was good enough the last game,” said Tortorella, who also said no when asked if they considered giving Petersen another start. “There hasn’t been a big discrepancy down [in Lehigh Valley] with Sandy and Cal. ... Sandy deserves a chance too. And again I don’t think our team played great in Pittsburgh, I don’t think Cal played that well. So Sandy gets a chance now and next time we want to use our backup and Sandy will get that game and we’ll make a call from there.”

Sandström is looking excited to get the chance to show what he can do. He’s got 25 NHL games under his belt, 20 last season, and five in 2021-22 where he went 0-4-1 and has a career 3.62 goals-against average and .887 save percentage. This season in Lehigh Valley, the 27-year-old goalie is 11-6-2 with a 3.23 GAA and 0.882 save percentage.

And, like his fellow Swede and now goalie partner, he is upfront with how things have gone this season.

“It’s been a little bit up and down,” Sandström said. “Took some time to get back to feeling 100% again with my game so, I think lately it [has] been better. Maybe not the results every night that you want, but I think my game has been improving the last month here. So I feel like I’m in a good spot right now to get into games.”

There’s a comfort level this season for Sandström as he was with the big club earlier this season. He started the season as the Flyers’ third goalie and served as the backup to Ersson on Oct. 21 against the Dallas Stars before being sent down to Lehigh Valley on Oct. 31 for a conditioning stint. Recalled and placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury on Nov. 4, he was sent back to the Phantoms on Nov. 21.

Sandström was back in Philly on Dec. 14 as an emergency recall and served as Ersson’s backup in a 4-3 overtime win against the Capitals before being loaned back to the Phantoms the next day.

“He’s got that cool, calm demeanor,” said Sean Couturier regarding the 6-foot-2 Sandström. “It’s gonna be fun seeing where he’s at. I wasn’t really around last year, but the one thing that I remember from a couple of years ago when he was around is [that he] seems to be bigger in net. That’s obviously a little more intimidating when you skate down on him. It’s a great opportunity for him. I don’t know how much he’s gonna play, but I’m sure he’ll be ready when he’s called upon.”

Garnet Hathaway got a little lost entering the building while playing his first game at Capital One Arena since his trade last season from the Capitals to the Bruins. Hathaway spent almost four seasons in the nation’s capital, notching 76 points (38 goals, 38 assists) in 257 regular-season games.