Although things did not exactly go according to plan after surrendering four goals in a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night, Philadelphia Flyers goalie prospect Aleksei Kolosov made NHL history in his NHL debut.
With his appearance against the Canadiens, Kolosov became the first Belarusian goalie to play in a game in NHL history.
Kolosov, 22, was drafted by the Flyers 78th overall in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft, the same year fellow Belarusian goalie Nikita Tolopilo left KHL outfit Dinamo Minsk for Sodertalje SK in Sweden.
Tolopilo, like Kolosov, is also signed to an NHL contract. The 24-year-old undrafted goalie is currently under contract with the Vancouver Canucks and has spent each of the last two seasons with the AHL Abbotsford Canucks.
How did Kolosov play in his NHL debut?
After playing in all four of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms games to start the 2024-25 season in the AHL, Kolosov was called up to the NHL by the Flyers on Saturday and made his first NHL start on Sunday against the Canadiens.
Kolosov started off very strongly, saving 10 of the first 11 shots he faced from Montreal (.909). The Flyers nearly the entire second period under the cosh and allowed the Canadiens to take a 4-1 lead with three goals in 12 minutes.
By the end of the game, Kolosov finished with 20 saves on 24 shots (.833).
Cole Caufield’s power play goal was perhaps the most unfortunate, as his shot from the left circle managed to squeak through Kolosov’s arm as the Flyers rookie tried to get across and seal his post.
You could argue that this goal was the most significant, as it lifted Montreal to a 3-1 lead at the end of a really long penalty kill shift for the Flyers. Even though Kolosov had played well up to that point, the goal sucked the wind out of the team’s sails, so to speak.
For the first two goals, Nick Suzuki’s opening goal was created by a lapse in defensive coverage in front of the net, while Brendan Gallagher’s goal was a fluke deflection that took a significant bounce on its way to the back of the net.
Jack Evans’s game-winning goal was a fluke as well, though a different kind of fluke. Gallagher’s stick shattered while he attempted a slap shot, which caused the puck to slowly trickle over to the back post.
No Flyers defenders were in position to intercept the loose puck, and Evans was uncovered at the back post for a slam dunk finish.
And if you follow Kolosov’s head movements on that goal by Evans, you can tell he had no idea where the puck was. Nick Seeler and Jamie Drysdale were both screening him, but he knew Gallagher had released the puck and heard the stick break.
Therefore, Kolosov was unable to properly position himself to try and save Evans’s shot to his right.
Kolosov’s teammate, Scott Laughton, and head coach, John Tortorella, both made points after the game against the Canadiens to note how well Kolosov played.
And after proudly representing his country at the NHL level for the first time ever, Kolosov has plenty of positives to take from his NHL debut despite the loss to the Canadiens.
