With a ‘goaltending situation,’ Flyers give Aleksei Kolosov the start against Montreal

The question at the end of many of The Lone Ranger episodes as he rode off into the distance was: “Who was that masked man?” For the Flyers, the question is more like: “Who is that masked man?”

Why because as coach John Tortorella said on Friday, “Let’s face it, we have a goaltending situation.”

Although he wouldn’t allude to it then, Tortorella was more forthcoming on Sunday after announcing goalie Aleksei Kolosov will be making his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens at the Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m., NBCSP).

Kolosov is the first Belarusian goalie to play in the NHL.

“Ivan [Fedotov] hasn’t played well enough,” he said. “So we’re trying to solve, trying to look at the situation and see where it goes.”

The backup to No. 1 netminder Sam Ersson, Fedotov has yet to find his footing in the NHL with a 5.35 goals-against average and .817 save percentage in three starts. And yes, some of the 27-year-old’s numbers are because the Flyers struggled out of the gate too, but the 6-foot-8 goalie has not looked comfortable, with several questionable goals getting through.

“One thing with Ivan, I think he struggled — he has struggled — but he spent all summer here trying to get ready,” Tortorella said. “So we give him a lot of credit there, but it’s just been a struggle.”

So with the opening of salary-cap space after Jett Luchanko was sent back to juniors and Cam York was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, the Flyers recalled Kolosov and defenseman Emil Andrae from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Saturday.

Drafted in the third round of the 2021 NHL draft and signed to an entry-level contract in 2023, Kolosov has had a bumpy road to the NHL. Loaned back to his hometown Dinamo Minsk, in the Kontinental Hockey League, he came over after the season ended in the spring. He appeared in two regular-season games for Lehigh Valley, posting a 3.03 goals-against average and an .855 save percentage.

Rumors started swirling after that he wasn’t happy in Allentown and was homesick. The only Russian-speaking player, he reportedly wanted to return to the KHL. He did not appear at development camp or rookie camp, and then he did not report to training camp. Ten days after general manager Danny Brière addressed the media on the situation, Kolosov officially reported. According to Tortorella, the reports out of the Phantoms have not reflected any of the past issues.

» READ MORE: Sean Couturier’s hat trick helps Flyers beat Minnesota, earn first home win of the season

The 22-year-old goalie brings a new element to the crease. An athletic goalie who moves well, he appeared in two preseason games — a combined 57 minutes, 59 seconds — and posted a 4.14 GAA and .810 save percentage; the second game was a matchup of farm teams for the Flyers and the New Jersey Devils, with their big club in Europe to start the season.

Kolosov was assigned to the Phantoms and went 1-2-1 with a 3.29 GAA and .875 save percentage to start the season.

“We don’t even talk about [our structure],” Tortorella said. “We want him to stop the puck. That’s it. We don’t talk about structure. [Goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh] handles him as far as his technique or whatever it may be but not much conversation with us. Such a unique position. We don’t need to convolute it. We just want him to be the best he can be.”

The Flyers are coming off a game in which they defeated one of the top teams in the NHL, the Minnesota Wild. The 7-5 win was the team’s second of the season and first at home.

“Just treat it just like any other game, you don’t want to adjust based on who’s in net,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “For us, it’s a back-to-back, we’re going to want to keep it simple and understand that they’re in a back-to-back as well so maybe we can take advantage of it early and try and get on them. Just try to stick to our game, try to build off of yesterday.”

The one positive in Kolosov’s favor is that his indoctrination to the NHL could be against a Canadiens team that has yet to win a road game and is at the bottom of the Atlantic Division. The Flyers, who, by the way, are at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, have also had more time to rest. They played during the day on Saturday at home and Montreal beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-2, in Quebec before hopping a plane south.

Andrae will make his season debut on Sunday, skating alongside Erik Johnson on the Flyers’ third pairing and getting some power-play time. The blueliner broke camp with the Flyers last season and skated in four games before being sent down to Lehigh Valley. He was called up this season when Nick Seeler was placed on injured reserve Oct. 11 but did not play in any games.

With Andrae being inserted, Egor Zamula will be a healthy scratch. The defenseman has struggled this season and has a plus-minus of minus-10.

“Just the speed, not just physical speed, but mental, as far as reading plays, getting the puck up the ice quicker,” Tortorella said when asked about his struggles. “We have stopped using him as an interpreter [for Matvei Michkov]. I think we went a little bit too far there. It’s time that we talked to Mich. It’s just too much, and I think that’s affected him a little bit. So I just want to put him out and let them watch a game, try to regroup, and then we’ll see what happens after.”

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has fined Garnet Hathaway $5,000, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, for elbowing Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek on Saturday. The incident happened late in the second period and Hathaway was assessed a minor penalty for roughing. Eriksson Ek suffered a broken nose earlier in the month.

A feisty forward, Hathaway was also involved in a scrum with just over two minutes remaining in the game. The Flyers had a 6-5 lead when his stick got tangled up with Mats Zuccarello. Scott Laughton and Zuccarello then took shots at each other before everyone got involved. Hathaway grabbed Eriksson Ek and was called for hooking Zuccarello while the Wild forward got a minor for roughing against Laughton.

Wild winger Marcus Foligno called it “[expletive]” that Zuccarello went to the box by himself, although Hathaway was given a penalty, too. In a follow-up question, he was asked about Hathaway taking shots at Eriksson Ek and playing a rough game and said, “That’s the way the guy plays. That’s how he has to stay relevant in this league.”

Hathaway has drawn four penalties this year, the fifth most (technically 23rd) in the NHL, with Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins atop the list with nine. The Flyers forward is tied with several players, including Travis Konecny, at second in the NHL for penalties taken (seven).