Sam Ersson Injury Update; Flyers Goalie Given Big Chance

Just when you thought things might have been going well for the Philadelphia Flyers, fate decided otherwise. Starting goalie Sam Ersson suffered a lower-body injury just 7:36 into Saturday’s 3-0 shutout loss against the Boston Bruins, which pressed rookie Aleksei Kolosov into NHL action for just the second time.

As for the nature of Ersson’s injury? “I really don’t know,” head coach John Tortorella said.

Before exiting the Flyers game, Ersson had lost a skate blade during play and had the referees blow the whistle to have a new one popped in. The 25-year-old Swede carried on for another section of play before talking to head athletic trainer Tommy Alva and exiting the game at the next whistle.

Since we know the Ersson injury is to the lower body, it opens the possibility that the Flyers’ starting goalie tweaked something during the passage of play in which he first lost his skate blade.

Ersson stopped all eight Bruins shots before exiting Saturday afternoon; he has a 4-2-1 record, a 2.68 GAA, and a .901 save percentage across nine appearances.

Flyers give Aleksei Kolosov a big opportunity

In the wake of Ersson’s mysterious lower-body injury, Aleksei Kolosov is now the Flyers’ starting goalie of the immediate future.

Kolosov, 22, made NHL history in his first career start on Sunday against Montreal, becoming the first Belarusian goalie to ever play in an NHL game.

In his second dose of NHL action, the former Dinamo Minsk ace was up to the task once again.

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Kolosov stopped 20 of 22 shots against the Bruins on Saturday afternoon, good for a .909 save percentage. Matt Poitras beat Kolosov between the legs on a rebound off the boards for the first goal as he was sliding over to the post, while Justin Brazeau was allowed to storm down the middle of the ice and slam home an uncontested one-contender as Kolosov was left stranded.

Overall, Kolosov’s second NHL game was perfectly fine, especially given the circumstances he had to perform under.

“It’s a hell of a spot,” Tortorella said of Kolosov and his performance vs. the Bruins. “I don’t think there’s going to be a problem there at all. He’s got some personality to his game. He fights.”

Ivan Fedotov, the Flyers’ original backup goalie heading into the season, dressed as the team’s emergency backup goalie once Ersson was ruled out for the game during the second period.

The Flyers will play four times in seven days next week, starting with with Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 7, and ending with San Jose on Monday, Nov. 11. If Ersson is truly injured and cannot make Philadelphia’s upcoming three-game road trip ahead of the Nov. 11 game against San Jose, the Flyers will be forced to platoon Kolosov and Fedotov.

“It’s always nice to make a save, which helps you get into the game,” Kolosov said after Saturday’s game via Slava Kuznetsov, the Flyers’ interpreter.

As for standing in for Ersson, the de facto starter, in future Flyers games?

“Still feel confident, but whatever the coach decides. That’s the coach’s decision.”