Flyers’ shutout of the Sabres the latest example of the team’s progress compared to last season

BUFFALO — Roughly one year ago, in Game No. 41 of the 2021-22 season, the Flyers visited the Buffalo Sabres for the first of their three matchups of the year and got smacked in the mouth.

The Flyers hit “rock bottom” in their 6-3 loss to the Sabres on Jan. 22, 2022, as former captain Claude Giroux put it in his postgame press conference, extending their losing streak to 11 games. Then-interim coach Mike Yeo lamented the lack of “battle level” shown by the players from the moment the puck dropped. The Flyers moved on from Buffalo, but not up — they lost their next two to establish a franchise-record losing streak. And that was just one lowlight of the seemingly never-ending despair that defined last season.

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On Monday night, the Flyers showed that while they’re not perfect, they’re not the 2022 Flyers.

One night after getting clobbered at home 6-2 by the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Flyers responded by sticking it to the upstart Sabres on Monday in Game No. 41, handing them a 4-0 loss. The Sabres hadn’t been shut out this season and led the NHL in goals per contest (4.0) going into their first of three meetings this season against the Flyers. Now, the Flyers have a 16-18-7 record (39 points) at the halfway point of the season. This time last year, the Flyers were 13-20-8 (34 points).

But while the win itself was impressive, especially given the opponent, the Flyers’ ability to hit reset after a disastrous showing against the Leafs was even more noteworthy.

“[Sunday] night was disappointing, but I think we all try to handle it the right way,” coach John Tortorella said. “It hasn’t happened that much during the year, just our intensity defensively [dropping off]. Just how hard we play. We haven’t had too many nights that we’ve taken off. So I think the most important thing: It didn’t happen two nights in a row.”

The Flyers jumped out to a far better defensive start, holding the Sabres to just five shots on goal in the first period and two high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. The fourth line helped establish the forecheck and got on the board first just two minutes into the first period when winger Zack MacEwen tallied his fourth goal of the season.

For the Flyers last season, the bottom fell out after the first month and the team never showed any progress afterward. But for the 2023 Flyers, with a marginally better record, they’ve shown signs of improvement in the last month following a 10-game losing streak from Nov. 10-26. The Flyers have won five of their last six games.

“I think we just keep getting better,” MacEwen said. “We’re starting to trust our game, our structure. With that, I think we’re kind of playing the right way and it’s creating more offense for us. We’re scoring more goals and [it’s] just something we’ve got to keep building.”

Better defense has ushered in better offense — the Flyers are averaging four goals per game in their last 10 outings, a substantial improvement over their 2.38 average in their first 31 games.

But when Monday’s game started to get away from them in the second period as the Sabres created scoring chances off the rush, the Flyers had an answer in goalie Samuel Ersson. The 23-year-old rookie earned his first NHL shutout by denying all 28 Sabres shots on goal. While the Flyers have shown gradual progress throughout their first 41 games, Ersson has shown rapid progress — since allowing five goals against the Carolina Hurricanes in his first NHL start, he has gone 4-0-0, posting a .947 save percentage.

In a very limited window, Ersson is working to give Tortorella and general manager Chuck Fletcher a hard decision to make once backup goalie Felix Sandström finishes his two-week conditioning stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

“That position, it kind of determines the being of the team, too, as we play,” Tortorella said of Ersson. “I think that’s what’s been impressive about him. He’s very calm and gets about his business. It helps the team.”

Yes, the Flyers’ power play continued to look listless against the Sabres, going 0-for-3 after an 0-for-4 night against the Leafs. Sure, the Sabres fired the puck into the netting or flat-out missed yawning cages on Grade-A chances throughout the night. The Flyers can only celebrate their successes briefly before scrutinizing their soft spots, then pivoting to the 23-14-6 Washington Capitals (Wednesdayand Saturday) and the 32-4-4 Boston Bruins (Monday).

But at the very least, the Flyers continued to build their hardworking, no-quit identity under Tortorella against a young, offensively talented Sabres team.

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“Second power play in the league, top team as far as goals per game,” center Noah Cates said. “Not giving them anything or [frustrating] them, [frustrating] those top guys. It feels good when you’re out there against them a lot and you’re playing in their zone or you’re disrupting plays at the blue line and being smart, because that’s how we need to play in our identity.”

The Flyers have hit lows this season, but they haven’t hit rock bottom, and they haven’t lost their fight. That in itself is progress.