Aleksei Kolosov is headed to the AHL. The Philadelphia Flyers loaned the goaltender to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday afternoon.
The timing stings. Less than a day earlier, he stood in the crease for all 60 minutes of a 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals at home.
Washington put 24 shots on him Saturday. Nineteen stayed out.
That's the kind of stat line that follows a goalie into a meeting with management, especially in late September when roster math turns cold.
And not all of it was on him. Ethen Frank scored on the power play, and Maxim Schafer picked up the game-winner for the Capitals.
Matvei Michkov, David Jiricek and Nick Seeler each went minus-3 in the loss. That's a lot of breakdowns in front of any goalie.
At the other end, Charlie Lindgren turned aside 32 of 33 shots in 40 minutes. Jamie Drysdale's goal was the only puck that got past him.
Rick Tocchet's crease picture tightens before the Penguins opener
The games start counting Wednesday night at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then it's straight to New Jersey on Thursday, so the season opens with a back-to-back.
That puts goaltending depth under the microscope right away. Tocchet and general manager Daniel Briere now have one fewer option to juggle in the crease.
Perets dressed as the backup Saturday and never left the bench. What that says about the pecking order, the opening-night lineup will tell us.
Here's where I land. Sending him down is the right call, and it isn't close.
A goalie watching from the press box learns nothing. Goaltending timing is like a jazz drummer's feel, kept alive only by playing four nights a week in rooms nobody's watching.
Lehigh Valley offers exactly that. Steady starts, real minutes and a chance to reset after a night he'll want back.
So does one ugly Saturday define a goalie?
Rarely. But the Flyers went 1-3-0 over their last four outings, and a team losing that often before the opener doesn't have patience to spare.
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The door back to Philadelphia isn't closed. How fast it opens depends on what he does with the Phantoms, and on whether anyone ahead of him stumbles first.
Should the Flyers have kept Aleksei Kolosov in Philadelphia for the season-opening back-to-back?
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