At this rate, Sam Ersson will find it hard to go back to the bench when No. 1 goaltender Carter Hart gets completely well again.

Hart has missed the last couple starts due to illness and Ersson has stepped into the breach quite nicely, first with a 4-3 shootout win in Nashville on Thursday night and again on Saturday night in a tidy 1-0 victory over Detroit at the Wells Fargo Center.

Ersson stopped all 34 Detroit shots and ran his record to 7-3-2 as the Flyers made it eight straight games with a point (7-0-1). With the win, the Flyers moved back into second place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 17-10-3.

Because it’s “family” week for the Flyers, the entire Ersson family was in attendance for this game. Coming over from Sweden were his father, Hans; his mother, Lena; his brothers, Axel and Marcus; his sisters Lisbet and Kirstin, and his girlfriend, Olivia.

The Flyers’ defense, which was missing Travis Sanheim (illness), did a good job of keeping Red Wing snipers from getting quality shots. The Flyers blocked 20 in all by 11 different players.

“The willingness to block shots is absolutely outstanding on this team,” Ersson said. “I would say it’s a big part of how we play. The penalty klll and five-on-five, it’s a big reason why we have success.”

Added coach John Tortorella: “I think it really helps the camaraderie when you see people do that. It’s part of how we have to play. Everybody knows they need to block shots. In that situation (at the end of the game), it’s just absolute desperation. It’s good when you succeed.”

Detroit was pressing for the tying goal in the closing minutes but the Flyers would have none of it. Clearly, the position players wanted Ersson to get that shutout, just as they did a couple Saturdays ago on Long Island.