GHOST PROTOCOL
With AHL playoffs in sight, will key Phantoms be in Philly?
Sam Ersson finally took his first NHL loss last weekend and was promptly returned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, though the loss had nothing to do with the transaction.
He joined the Phantoms on the road in Bridgeport, and stood tall late as Lehigh Valley rallied from a three-goal deficit for the first time this season in a 4-3 win over the Islanders.
It marked Ersson’s fourth straight win with the Phantoms dating back to Feb. 4, going 4-0-0 in the month with a 1.50 GAA and .939 save percentage — in the AHL of course.
Flyers coach John Tortorella, who is known for his brutal honesty, wasn’t disappointed with Ersson in that Saturday loss to the Devils.
“Ers is fine,” Tortorella said. “It sucks he to eat all seven , but that’s part of the process for a No. 2 goalie. He’ll be fine. Look past this one in his development. I think it’s probably going to help him along the way.”
His bounceback win against AHL competition proved that on Sunday in Bridgeport, and it echoed other comments Tortorella made about Ersson.
“I think he’s been in some situations where it just kind of rolls off him. He doesn’t let things affect him, good things, bad things. He’s very focused on his position. He plays very well and carries himself very well.”
Playoffs focus
If the Phantoms are to make the playoffs (they sit in fourth place in the tight Atlantic Division, with the top six teams making the cut), Ersson would be a critical component to the team’s success – if the Flyers don’t have him up with the big club.
Lehigh Valley would also be depending on the scoring finesse of Elliott Desnoyers, who also
has been up and down with the Flyers the past week, and is back with them as of Monday.
Outside of the short month of October because of the season opening on Oct. 15, the Phantoms have won six games every month of this season, and at 26-323-3 for 58 points, are tied for fourth place in the division with Springfield, which has a game-in-hand.
Heading into the final seven weeks of the season, Charlotte is in third place with 65 points. Hartford, Bridgeport and WilkesBarre/Scranton are bringing up the rear and in striking distance with all three carrying a game-in-hand on the Phantoms. The Penguins at the bottom of the that trio with 52 points.
While it would be great if the Phantoms could keep their core players in the lineup without being recalled to Philadelphia, the reality is that won’t happen.
As the NHL trade deadline looms 3 p.m. Friday, the Flyers have already traded Phantoms 6-foot-7 forward Isaac Ratcliffe to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations. With the Flyers longshots at best to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they are expected to be one of the sellers as Friday draws ever closer.
And even after the tradeline, it’s going to be difficult to figure out what the Phantoms roster will look like, given the scenario last season where they were in the playoff hunt, the Flyers were all but eliminated, yet the Flyers kept calling up key Phantoms, hurting Lehigh Valley’s postseason chances for the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Granted, the purpose of the AHL is to develop players and get them ready for the NHL. And the players get a nice pay bump every time they get called up. But at some point as the playoff chances dwindle, is it better for the Flyers to call up AHL players to give them NHL minutes, or to let them stay down on the farm with the potential for a taste of playoff hockey and playoff success?
There is no perfect answer. AHL fans in general revel when their favorite players get called up and get to play for the NHL parent clubs. But they also revel in Calder Cup runs.
The Phantoms have numerous veteran players capable of leading the team on a playoff run, including captain Cal O’Reilly, along with gifted scorers Artem Anisimov and Garrett Wilson and Hayden Hodgson, as well as defensemen Louie Belpedio and Kevin Connauton.
Whatever happens over this final stretch of the regular season, the Phantoms have provided some first-class entertainment this season with promising young players shining on ice. It would be great to see how those same young players perform in actual playoff situations.
Home again
The Phantoms will be coming off a two-week, four-game road trip that ends Friday in Syracuse. Lehigh Valley was 7-3-1 on the road since Jan. 1 heading into the trip, but won one and lost two, including one in a shootout, to collect three points on the swing heading into the trip to Syracuse.
The Phantoms return to PPL Center on Saturday to host the Toronto Marlies on Slap Shot Night with Dave Hanson from the iconic movie. Lehigh Valley hosts Providence in a Sunday night game featuring a team poster giveaway and a postgame autograph session with the players to complete the three-in-three weekend.
The two home games kick off seeing the Phantoms play six of seven in front of a home crowd.
They head to WilkesBarre on March 10 before running through a fourgame homestand that includes games with Belleville, Utica, and then two straight with Hershey.
Who’s hot
Garrett Wilson is on a five-game point streak with five goals and four assists. The five-game point streak is tied for the longest by a Phantom this season.
Even though Desnoyers has been recalled by the Flyers, he scored five goals with eight assists in just nine games played in February with the Phantoms.