Alexei Kolosov expected to play for the Flyers on Sunday

After four games with the Phantoms in the AHL, Alexei Kolosov is now expected to make his official NHL debut with the Flyers.

After a drama-filled summer, Kolosov reported to Philadelphia toward the end of training camp and appeared in a few preseason games. But he was eventually loaned to the AHL as the team wanted him to get into the swing of things before playing in a real NHL game. There were talks about what would happen next.

There were plenty of reported rumors that Kolosov still wanted to be an NHL goaltender and that there was an agreement that he would play games with the Flyers this season. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that he could be loaned back to the KHL for another year. The Flyers haven't been keen on that idea, though.

So after four games with the Phantoms, Kolosov is expected to start for Philadelphia against the Canadiens on Sunday night. Kevin Kurz was on the official news first, while Anthony Di Marco later added that Kolosov is likely to start. Rumors of the move potentially happening first surfaced Di Marco and Kevin Weekes.

Kolosov expected to make NHL debut against Montreal

The numbers in the AHL haven't been the most inspiring for Kolosov. In four games for the Phantoms, he has posted a 3.29 GAA & .875 SV%. But it may be more about the Flyers' current backup goaltender than what Kolosov has done.

Ivan Fedotov has had a rough start to the season. It's still early in his NHL career as he only has a total of six games under his belt. But the numbers are not where anyone would like them to be. In three games this season, Fedotov has a 5.35 GAA and a .821 SV%. He has allowed four or more goals in all three games.

While he played better in his last outing, the Flyers don't want to waste a lot of time waiting to see if he figures it out. He did sign the rather large contract with minimal sample size in the offseason, but getting a look at Kolosov is something Philadelphia has to do at some point.

Is having his debut happen during the second half of a back-to-back the most ideal? Probably not. Could the Flyers have waited until they hit the road on Tuesday? Or even when they returned home on Halloween? Most likely.

But this move shows that they aren't happy with Fedotov's play. And they shouldn't be. He has moments where he makes crazy saves that he shouldn't. And then he can't figure out how to look around screens or make routine saves. It's still too early to pull the plug completely on him. But the Kolosov situation is more vital at this time.

If he turns out to be ready for the NHL level, the Flyers will have a decision to make. Until then, we'll see what happens.