Aleksei Kolosov, Ivan Fedotov making Flyers goaltending decision harder

John Tortorella didn't mince words at the beginning of this season when he came to the Flyers' goaltending situation.

Sam Ersson was the unquestioned starter, though they had seen the effects of burnout the last two seasons between the NHL and AHL. Ivan Fedotov's small stint at the end of the season left more questions than answers. And with Aleksei Kolosov coming over after a drama-filled summer, getting him into the mix was also important.

That is why Tortorella said the team's goaltending "scared the crap out of him" at the beginning of the year. He was faced with a goaltender who was becoming the starter for the first time and two inexperienced players behind him. He had a right to be scared.

So when Ersson went down with a groin injury at the beginning of November before tweaking the injury again after returning, the net would now be shared between Fedotov and Kolosov. Neither had inspiring starts to the season before that.

Fedotov's journey to the NHL is a wild one and one that has been discussed in great detail. No one will truly know everything that went on aside from the goaltender himself. But he arrived late last season and signed a two-year deal in the offseason. The Flyers showed their commitment to him by handing him over 3M per year. With a rough 4.95 GAA and a .811 SV%, it was a risk. But what other choice did the Flyers have?

The risk was looking just like it in Fedotov's first few starts. He lost his first three games, allowing a combined 14 goals. He had an abysmal 5.35 GAA. He was relegated to the backup role and was even scratched altogether once Kolosov arrived. And then Ersson suffered a lower-body injury against the Bruins. Kolosov replaced him and started the Flyers' next game. A morning skate injury knocked him out before taking on the Lightning.

In a game that Fedotov was never supposed to start, he put on his best performance of the season. Despite allowing a wrap-around goal late in the first period, Fedotov would shut out Tampa for the rest of the evening. A third-period tally from Owen Tippett followed by two shootout goals from the Flyers and Fedotov had his first NHL victory.

"I look at Feds and all the time that he put into the summer. He was here all summer long, doing his work, getting ready for the season. And it did not start off right,” Tortorella said on Monday. “I'm really happy that he's hung in there, didn't make any excuses, kept his head down, worked at his game."

He would win his next two starts following that and would see his numbers climb to a much more respectable look. There are times when Fedotov does get lost in his net, but it appears those are happening less and less as he gets more comfortable with the North American game.

His most recent victory saw him go toe to toe with one of the best in Igor Shesterkin. His .957 SV% in that game matched his effort against the Lightning as a career-best. Since the game against Tampa, Fedotov has gone 4-1-1 and has a much improved 2.57 GAA and a .909 SV%. Has he done enough to claim the backup role?

"I don't care about that. I can't control that so it's only the decision from the coach, from the GM who can make a decision. We'll see what'll happen," Fedotov said about the looming goaltending decision. "We're all together working and trying to be part of this team. It's hard to be here [with] all three goalies. We'll see what happens, but right now for me, I don't care about that. It is what it is."

Kolosov was much more of an unknown coming to the Flyers. Sure, he had strong numbers in the KHL. But after spending time in Lehigh Valley at the end of the 2023-24 season, it seemed as if he wasn't keen on returning. Rumors began to fly that he'd rather continue his development in Russia, somewhere he felt would be better for him. The Flyers disagreed.

This battle went into training camp where Kolosov elected to show up toward the end of the preseason. Without much time to make a decision on where he would play, he would end up being loaned to the Phantoms. But with the suspected drama, is that where he truly wanted to be?

He spent four games with Lehigh Valley, putting up rather pedestrian numbers during that time. With Fedotov's struggles at the NHL level, speculation grew on whether or not it was time to give Kolosov a shot. That shot came toward the end of October. Kolosov made his NHL debut against the Canadiens. It didn't go well.

Neither would his next start against the Hurricanes. But something that stood out about Kolosov was his athleticism and willingness to stop the puck at any cost. He was mobile in the net and used that to get across and make saves. He is not a finished product by any means and he is prone to giving up big rebounds and can sometimes take himself out of position with his movements.

After his second appearance against Boston, Kolosov talked about "controlling traffic and finding the puck faster" as some of the things he wanted to keep working on in the NHL. But he was getting more comfortable being able to communicate with his defensemen and it’ll grow game by game.

But just like Fedotov, Kolosov found his footing to earn his first win against the Blackhawks. Since then, he has added two straight wins and is coming off his most impressive outing of the season. Battling with Jordan Binnington on the other side, Kolosov made numerous big saves on some of the Blues' toughest shooters.

Kolosov has only allowed two goals in his last three outings and has matched a career-high .926 SV% in his last two games. In the three games, he has posted an impressive 1.98 GAA and a .920 SV%. So has he done enough to secure a permanent role in the NHL?

For now, John Tortorella will continue to alternate his two goaltenders. Why not when each is playing so well at this time? But Tortorella isn't inclined to choose which goes at what time. He leaves that up to goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh, a coach who has brought life into the Flyers' goaltending.

"Being a goalie coach in Philadelphia, he deserves a ton of credit. He's done a terrific job. He has to listen to s--- from me when things aren't going right with that position," Tortorella said on Dillabaugh earlier this week. "I know nothing about it, but I'm the first one to piss and moan about it when it's not getting done. He's a terrific coach and I think he brings a steadiness to that. It's such a unique position in what he coaches because it's kind of his team. I stay out of it. It's kind of his little enterprise there and I think he does a terrific job.

Ersson is going to be the guy when he comes back into the net, there is no question about that. But the internal competition doesn't stop, regardless of what is said.

"It's the best league in the world, that's the reality of it. Nothing is going to be given to you, you have to earn everything every day," Ersson said after Wednesday's practice. "I think no matter what is said, you still have to earn your spot every day. I think it's great that we have that. You always want to push each other, right? That's how you get better, that internal competition."

Nothing is set in stone at this time and the Flyers will continue to evaluate things as they move forward here. Fedotov and Kolosov have stepped in admirably, but eventually, a decision will be made.

"I think eventually we're gonna have to figure this out. Sam is our number one guy, we've got to figure out what happens after that as we push through here. I think Koly and Feds have really stepped in, it was worrisome when we lost Sam. But we still need to see more as we play more and more games along the way here to really judge what a goalie is."