Flyers takeaways: Sam Ersson’s shootout success; ‘pack mentality’ on show vs. Penguins

It was a doozy of a Tuesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena, ending with a 3-2 shootout win by the Flyers over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Here are three things to know:

Asked about Sam Ersson in early October, former Flyers goalie and current TV analyst Brian Boucher told The Inquirer, “I think he’s a very good goaltender, and I think the one way you can see that is watch him in shootouts. He’s a very good shootout goaltender. He’s got very good patience. He’s powerful, he’s got good flexibility. To me, that’s not easy.

» READ MORE: Travis Konecny scores goal No. 200, as Flyers beat Penguins for second straight shootout win

“That’s like one of the toughest things to do as a goaltender is to be good at that, and he is good at that. So if he can be good at that, I think he can be good in other areas as well.”

How good is Ersson at shootouts? He has the seventh-best save percentage (.787) among goalies with at least 10 career shootout appearances since they began in 2005-06. And he’s 10-3 in those contests.

“Erss is elite in the shootout. I see it in practice almost every day. Maybe one of the toughest goalies in the league to score on in the shootout,” Flyers winger Bobby Brink said after the game.

According to Noah Cates, they worked on the shootout with Ersson during practice Monday. “Bobby scored a couple times,” Cates said. “They were saying it was good we worked on them.”

Ersson said he didn’t watch Brink’s nifty double deke move Tuesday, but when asked about Brink getting a couple on him the day prior, Ersson emphatically said with a smile, “No. Not a single one.”

And across the whole night, Ersson, who got a second straight start for the first time this season, moved well and appeared confident in net, especially after conceding a bad early goal. A lot of pucks seemed to hit him right in the chest, making for an easy save. Ersson stopped 24 of 26 shots overall.

“Maybe it’s good positioning by me,” he said with a laugh. “Yeah, I don’t really know, but it’s a good feeling, like, usually when it hits you square in the chest, you’re in a pretty good spot.”

There was another big yell from Travis Konecny on Tuesday night, this time after he scored his second goal of the season — and the 200th of his NHL career.

“Yeah, it was good. I’m terrible with those things. Like, I remember I was at 99 and it was 20 games without scoring, so I just get in my head,” he said. “Nice milestone to reach, and got a nice picture with all the guys in the room that were in there, because you can’t get to that if you don’t have great teammates helping you.”

Finishing out a penalty kill with Sean Couturier, who chipped the puck out of the zone, Konecny got the puck back from the captain after Brink — coming out of the box — made sure the Penguins couldn’t control it in the neutral zone.

The Flyers’ leading point guy in five of the last six seasons, including the last four, Konecny skated into the right circle and whipped a shot past Artūrs Šilovs.

Did it make the milestone even more special, considering Couturier got the primary assist?

“Yeah, it was good. Coots has obviously been my longest teammate in the room here, and we’ve been through everything, ups and downs together so far,” said Konecny. The two have been together since Konecny debuted in 2016.

“He’s been fantastic for me and my career, and helping me along the way, and kind of showing me the other side of the game where I need to tone it back sometimes and not be offense all the time. He’s a good friend to me now, so yeah, it was pretty cool.”

» READ MORE: What’s a bumper? Here’s a closer look at a key to power-play success for the Flyers.

There were some concerns about the room last season when guys like Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, who return with the Calgary Flames on Sunday (7 p.m., NBCSP+), and Scott Laughton, who has been dealing with an injury but will be in town Saturday with the Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m., NBCSP), were traded. But there is no denying how stable and close-knit this team is.

“That pack mentality. You know, you eat together as a pack. If you’re the lone wolf, you’re done, but the pack lives. ... I think it’s philosophical, but I just believe in that stuff,” coach Rick Tocchet said.

“So, whether it’s Trevor Zegras jumping or [Nic] Deslauriers, it seems like everybody’s jumping in to help out. We’re preaching discipline, too. We’re not being stupid. I just think we’re just sticking together. I think that’s a good thing.”

There is definitely a pack mentality this season, as several players have stood up for their teammates. On Tuesday, the Flyers-Penguins rivalry was re-ignited at the end of the game.

Trevor Zegras was part of a melee that saw him, Tyson Foerster, Owen Tippett, and Jamie Drysdale, along with the Penguins’ Parker Wotherspoon, Noel Acciari, Ryan Shea, and Sidney Crosby, get 10-minute misconducts. And, because they all got misconducts, none of the players could participate in the shootout.

“There’s been a couple of times where guys are sticking up for each other,” said Konecny. “[Nikita] Grebenkin, the one game. I had one. [Garnet Hathaway] had a good fight there. And then I think [Matvei Michkov], he did it for me. ... Guys are hopping on board with it. And, yeah, it was great. And seeing Ziggy jump in like that, it’s fantastic.

“Now, I’ll have to ask him if he knew the rule about getting kicked out; maybe he wouldn’t have done it.”