Flyers turn to Aleksei Kolosov at goalie with Sam Ersson day to day for lower-body injury

LAS VEGAS ― On Wednesday, the Flyers held a spirited practice at T-Mobile Arena.

Amid the sounds of steel slicing through ice and rubber hitting graphite blades, there were yips, hooting, and hollering as high-fives were doled out often. It was a well-deserved vibe as the team was coming off a 4-0 win against the San Jose Sharks on New Year’s Eve, giving the Flyers a 2-1-0 start to a five-game road trip.

To close things out on New Year’s Day, they played three-on-three hockey in the neutral zone with Joel Farabee sliding the puck through the wickets of Aleksei Kolosov. As he celebrated down the ice and into the corner with the rest of his teammates in orange, Travis Konecny skated to Kolosov and gave him a tap on the helmet.

It may have been just a practice but it was an important moment as Kolosov will now be getting the lion’s share of the starts after Flyers general manager Danny Brière announced goalie Sam Ersson is day to day with a lower-body injury. He did not practice on Wednesday and coach John Tortorella said he “probably won’t play” against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday (10 p.m., NBCSP+).

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Ersson made 15 saves across the first two periods of the win against the Sharks but did not come out for the third. Although the exact injury is unknown, Tortorella thought postgame the injury might have occurred when the Swedish netminder collided with Sharks center Luke Kunin late in the second period.

Tortorella was unsure if it was a reoccurrence of a lower-body injury that caused Ersson to miss two games in early November and, after a re-aggravation, another 11 before he returned against the Utah Hockey Club on Dec. 8.

Kolosov played the third period against San Jose and made seven saves, including saves on the Sharks’ wide-open Jan Rutta and Macklin Celebrini. It was the fourth time he either came on in relief or due to injury this season.

“I think the situation, like last game, where Erss is playing really well, and obviously goes out for injury, and I think you want to kind of simplify things, as Koly was coming in cold I guess you can say after two periods,” forward Owen Tippett said. “But he stood on his head, made some huge saves, and allowed us to come up on top there.

“I think for the most part you just play the same game. Obviously, we trust whoever is in the net back there. And you know they give us a chance to win.”

The Belarusian netminder is 4-7-1 with a 3.39 goals-against average and .872 save percentage this season. He is expected to get the start Thursday, although it was Ivan Fedotov between the pipes when the Flyers last played the Golden Knights, a 5-4 shootout loss, at the Wells Fargo Center on Nov. 25.

Listed third on the depth chart by Tortorella, Fedotov has not played since Dec. 5, when he was pulled after allowing two goals on seven shots in the first 20 minutes against the Florida Panthers. Fedotov is 4-4-1 with a 3.48 GAA and .877 save percentage in 10 games this season. The 6-foot-7 Russian goalie has been using the time to work on the details of his game, like dealing with traffic in front, tipped shots, and controlling rebounds.

“I just stay with my routine [and] what I can do. It’s only keep working,” Fedotov said. “Concentrate on the ice, off the ice, and just keep my mind every time in focus. It’s hard, [and] it’s a tough time but all the time you have to be ready because anything can happen. If you [are] not be ready, it’s only your problem.”

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At 28, Fedotov said he understands the business of it all and how he has handled the situation has impressed Tortorella. Fedotov has not been getting a ton of work during practices as the bench boss requested that goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh focus on Ersson and Kolosov.

Now the focus will certainly be on Kolosov, who said through the team translator that the NHL has been what he expected but there is a lot more traffic in front of the net. At 22, Kolosov will be heavily leaned on with Ersson out.

The calendar has flipped to 2025 but it’s another day in the crazy world of Philadelphia Flyers goaltending.

“It’s the water in Philly or something happens that everything gets screwed up,” Tortorella said. “No one expected Carter [Hart, who is facing charges of sexual assault] leaving and forcing Erss into this situation. Then it’s just a domino effect with these other guys, and we got two other guys in the wings in the organization. I’m not sure where it all goes, but it is what it is and we’ve got to deal with it.”