If you want the authoritative word on everything from backup goaltenders to a hockey team’s slow start, just stop by the Flyers’ TV broadcast booth.
That’s where you will find former Flyers netminder Brian Boucher, serving as analyst alongside play-by-play man Jim Jackson on game telecasts.
Who better to go than Boucher to find out what’s going on with this current Flyers team?
One of the hot topics at the moment pertains to who’s leading in the battle to keep Philadelphia’s backup goaltending position.
When the season began, Ivan Fedotov held down the No. 2 spot behind regular starter Samuel Ersson.
But Fedotov has gotten off to a terrible start and now Aleksei Kolosov is getting a look to see if he might be a better option.
Boucher, a Flyers’ first-round pick back in 1995, says the team needs to figure out this conundrum and in a hurry.
“It’s not ideal for the second and third guy,” Boucher said. “It’s a stressful situation. It’s tough to find practice time. Get enough reps to stay sharp.
“But it’s a situation that you’re in. For Fedotov, he had some games to play to show that he could be the guy. And it didn’t go the way he wanted. Because of that, it’s opened up the door for Kolosov to come in here and get an opportunity.”
Kolosov held his own in his first game last Sunday, a 4-3 home loss to Montreal.
“So now we’ll see what Aleksei can do and go from there,” Boucher said. “I mean when there’s three goalies on a practice sheet, trust me, it’s far from ideal. It’s not the greatest and it puts some pressure on both of those guys.”
What seems to be Fedotov’s problem? He’s 0-3 with a 5.35 goals-against average.
“I feel like the game is fast for him here,” Boucher said. “The rink is a little bit small. There is perhaps a little more congestion on this ice surface. And let’s face it, he’s a big guy (6-foot-7). So big guys, their footwork is not going to be the best all the time.
“It’s a work in progress for him. It’s going to be important for him to get reps. It’s hard to get those reps in practice. It’s going to be game reps. How are you going to give him game reps?
“That’s going to be the challenge. Is it going to be a situation where you do go down and play some games at Lehigh Valley just to keep sharp game-wise? It’s not the same speed but it is game-reps. It will be interesting to see what (general manager) Danny Briere decides to do. It’s a tough situation right now.”
On the flip side, Ersson has looked quite good in his first season as the designated No. 1.
He entered Saturday’s game against Boston with 2.72 goals-against average and 4-2-1 record.
“I’m a big Sam Ersson fan,” Boucher said. “I think his demeanor is perfect to be a goalie. He takes accountability. He competes. He’s also got a calmness to him that I think flows out to the rest of his team, like he’s got this.”
Boucher is an expert when it comes to analyzing the mental side of the game. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of Ersson’s game.
“I know the second half of last year didn’t go the way he wanted,” Boucher said. “A big learning experience for him but he’s big in the net. He’s patient. To me, could he work on his puckhandling, for sure. I think that’s an area that he can work on his game.
“As far as everything, it’s solid. He’s an NHL goalie, there’s no question in my mind. He’s going to have a nice career. I think last year, sharing the net with Hart when Carter was here was a good break-in for him. And then the times he had last year was a good learning experience for him. I think he’s better prepared this year.”
As for the Flyers’ lineup of position players, Boucher sees both sides of a 1-5-1 start that had seen them win three of four heading into Saturday action.
“I can say this, it’s early in the year,” Boucher said. “They had a four-game road trip to start out west. The first three games I thought were good. The fourth game in Seattle, I thought the goaltending let them down. And then they get a tough game coming home for their home-opener.
“It’s not an easy schedule but it’s not an excuse. A game like they had against Boston (last week), the defensive side of the game was very sound. They killed penalties, they played to the identity that we saw a large chunk of last year. That’s a game that we can build on.
“I still think there are some guys that are underperforming offensively. They can get better out of some of their forwards up front. Guys like (Owen) Tippett, (Morgan) Frost, (Tyson) Foerster, (Joel) Farabee. They’ve got more and when they do get going, even on the back end, Jamie Drysdale, things will improve. The record is not indicative of what we’re going to see down the road.”
