Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Loan Pederson Back to AHL, Recall Aleksei Kolosov; Team has 4 Healthy Centers
The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled goaltender Aleksei Kolosov in the wake of Sam Ersson’s injury. Ersson exited Philadelphia’s game vs. the Boston Bruins following a lower-body injury suffered during the second period of Thursday’s game.
Ersson was not placed on injured reserve for the move. While Ersson’s injury is likely not that serious, the Flyers recalled Kolosov as an insurance move, with Vladar just returning from injury and Ersson likely sidelined.
Kolosov’s last start with the Flyers did not go well. He was pulled just over 8 minutes into the game vs. the Rangers after he allowed 3 goals on 3 shots.
This season, Kolosov has a 4.00 GAA and an .830 SV%. It’s not ideal, but he is insurance for Ersson if he is not healthy enough to split with Vladar.
Since the Flyers did not place Ersson on injured reserve, Philly has officially loaned Lane Pederson back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL. Pederson, while he did not look bad, did not do much to separate himself in the NHL.
With that, it means the Flyers now have four healthy centers on the roster: Christian Dvorak, Noah Cates, Trevor Zegras, and Sean Couturier.
Pederson being sent back down means, for the time being, that Trevor Zegras is back at center for the Flyers. In all likelihood, it probably keeps Sean Couturier in the 4C spot for the time being.
With Pederson back in the AHL, it opens up an opportunity for Trevor Zegras to grab hold of a center spot.
The Flyers play on Saturday vs. the LA Kings at 12:30 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
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Zegras went 1 for 12 against the Bruins at the faceoff dot. Can’t have him at 2C with those numbers. Unless of course tanking to get a #5 or #6 is the end game.
When he was interviewed after Saturday’s game, one of the reporters asked him what he needed to work on, and he immediately said “Face offs”. So he’s aware he has to get better. I agree, 1 for 12 is just horrible. Don’t know what his numbers were against the Kings.