John Tortorella spoke to the media after the Flyers’ 2-1 OT win over the Red Wings.
The Flyers are no longer carrying three goalies.
They loaned Aleksei Kolosov to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley on Wednesday night, officially making Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov the club's goaltending tandem moving forward, at least for now. Along with Kolosov, Olle Lycksell was sent to the Phantoms, while Anthony Richard was recalled to the Flyers.
Kolosov was made the Flyers' backup over Fedotov in December after a promising stretch to finish November. But in his last three starts, the 23-year-old rookie struggled. He went 0-3-0, gave up 15 goals and had a .792 save percentage. He lost the backup job and hadn't played since Jan. 2.
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With Lehigh Valley, Kolosov will play a No. 1 workload. After a rocky offseason, which bled into training camp, Kolosov and the Flyers have tried to make it work this season. The 2021 third-round pick has just six games of AHL experience, so the Flyers hope the time there will help his development.
As the Flyers' third goalie, Fedotov went almost a month without playing. But he got another look and took advantage. In his three starts after the long layoff, the 28-year-old has posted a 2.59 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage.
Fedotov opened the season as Ersson's backup but lost the job after giving up 14 goals in his first three starts.
"The way he has played, if you take out those first three starts, he's a capable backup goalie," general manager Danny Briere said Tuesday. "Two weeks ago, he was the No. 3, so kudos to him for working his way back in. I thought Kolosov started really well and then on the back end for him, it has kind of gone the other way. There has been a flip-flop between the two."
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Following a difficult journey, the 6-foot-7 Fedotov started his NHL career at the end of March last season when he suddenly joined the Flyers.
"I think it's a hell of a story for the guy," John Tortorella said Monday. "In a personal note, in my heart, I'm happy for the guy. Because he went through some stuff just to get here. He has battled. You guys don't even know what happened last year in a couple of situations that I came down on him certain times. He has just went about it, has been a really good pro and he finds himself now playing."
Richard, a 28-year-old winger with high-end speed, impressed the Flyers in November. He had six points (two goals, four assists) and a plus-4 rating in seven games.
The Flyers take a season-best six-game point streak to Madison Square Garden on Thursday as they face the Rangers (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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