Philadelphia Flyers rookie goalie Aleksei Kolosov lost in each of his first four NHL appearances, including his first three NHL starts. Suddenly, at the drop of a hat, Kolosov has won in the NHL for the first and second times in the span of five days.
Kolosov, 22, made 19 saves on 21 shots against Chicago on Saturday afternoon in a 3-2 win, then followed that up with a 25-save effort in a dramatic 3-2 overtime win against Nashville on Wednesday night.
Notably, Kolosov has recorded a save percentage above .900 in three of his six appearances this season. The three games he did not record a save percentage above .900 in were against Montreal — his first NHL start — Colorado, and Carolina.
The latter two, in particular, were tough asks of a goalie who now has exactly a dozen games of North American experience.
And even with that inexperience, Kolosov has shown considerable progress on the ice in his last few games. The Belarusian may commit the odd error here and there, but Kolosov is learning mostly through his eyes, not his ears.
The amount he can learn in a certain amount of time is limited because he hardly speaks or understands English, so he’s communicating through concepts and basic terms.
Flyers have a goalie controversy brewing?
Before Saturday’s showing against Chicago, most probably assumed that Kolosov was a shoo-in to return to the AHL once starter Sam Ersson reached full health again. Incumbent backup goalie Ivan Fedotov had won three of his previous four appearances and outright stole two of those games.
After a second consecutive loss for Fedotov on Monday, the 28-year-old has lost each of his last two games and has allowed a total of eight goals between them.
Kolosov, on the other hand, has won his last two starts and allowed a total of four goals in those two games. Admittedly, the circumstances are different.
Fedotov faced Carolina and Vegas, while Kolosov faced lowly squads like Nashville and Chicago.
With Kolosov beginning to show his talents, making crucial save after crucial save in a game where Nashville thoroughly outplayed the Flyers, a decision when Ersson is healthy may not be as simple as previously thought.
After winning his second NHL game in a row, Kolosov now actually leads Flyers goalies in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes, with -0.086. Indeed, it’s a negative figure, but marginally so.
That goes to show that Ersson, Fedotov, and the Flyers as a whole have not been very good this season.
Kolosov ranks 44th in the NHL out of 76 in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes, according to MoneyPuck, so he’s been slightly below average. However, he’s also placed above well-established stars, such as Jacob Markstrom (46th), Sergei Bobrovsky (50th), Linus Ullmark (52nd), and Jeremy Swayman (54th).
It is a bite-sized sample size for Kolosov, but remember, he’s only 22 years old. He doesn’t speak or understand English at a high level, is learning a new style of play on the fly, and has never faced players this talented before.
He’s going to make mistakes and learn from them, but most importantly, he’s going to continue to improve. And now Kolosov has his first two NHL wins for the Flyers in rapid succession.
