Flyers' Emil Andrae Back in Action against Predators with Kolosov's Return
The Philadelphia Flyers are riding high after their shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, and they’ll look to keep that going against the Nashville Predators.
There will be a few changes to the roster, though, as Rick Tocchet realigns things on defense for Thursday night’s showdown with the Predators.
Emil Andrae gets his second NHL game of the season
Emil Andrae will return to the lineup after being recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Tuesday. He’ll take the place of Egor Zamula on the third pair with Noah Juulsen.
Andrae has played in just one game this season, the Flyers’ 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers in the home opener. He got just 10:22 of ice time across 16 shifts in the game, logging one shot on goal, one takeaway, and one giveaway.
Since then, Andrae has been tasked with playing a big role on the Phantoms, and he defied the Flyers’ concerns in a shorthanded role, as Maddie Campbell wrote last week.
Andrae always seems to be the odd man out in the Flyers’ defensive depth chart, possibly due to his size at 5’9″, but he’ll get another chance on Thursday night. He played in 42 games last season, averaging 17:21 per game for the Flyers.
Dan Vladar starts, Sam Ersson injured
Dan Vladar is getting the start against the Predators, but it won’t be Sam Ersson backing him up. Ersson is day-to-day after tweaking something in practice, so it will be Aleksei Kolosov on the bench as the backup on Thursday night.
There is always cause for concern when Ersson is unable to suit up, but Rick Tocchet described the ailment as “not serious” ahead of the Flyers’ first back-to-back of the season this weekend.
The Flyers’ plan will be to split the starts between whichever two goalies are healthy for the home matchups against the Maple Leafs on Saturday and Flames on Sunday. It could be a revenge game for Vladar, who wasn’t exactly given the easiest starts last season in Calgary, backing up rookie Dustin Wolf.
If Ersson isn’t ready for the weekend, we’ll see our old friend Kolosov between the pipes for the Flyers. He played well during the preseason for the Flyers and is off to a strong start in the AHL. Through five games, Kolosov is 3-2-0-1 with 13 goals allowed on 145 shots for a .918 save percentage and 2.60 goals-against average.
For now, though, hopes are that Ersson will be good to go for the weekend. The Leafs will be a tough test on Saturday night as their up-and-down start has been overshadowed by the Blue Jays’ World Series run. The Flames on Sunday should be an easier matchup, as Calgary sits in the basement of the entire league with a 2-8-1 record in its first 11 games, getting outscored 39-24.
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