Flyers sign Kyle Konin to be emergency backup against Lightning

A somewhat familiar face is going to be back in the NHL, for at least one day.

About an hour before puck drop from their matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night, the Philadelphia Flyers announced they had signed goaltender Kyle Konin to an amateur tryout. Aleksei Kolosov, who was announced to be the starter this morning, was ruled out with a lower-body injury.

Ivan Fedotov has been tabbed as the starter for the Flyers.

The name Konin might ring a bell to a few people. A resident of the Tampa Bay area, this will be the third he has dressed as an emergency backup in the last four seasons. In Dec. 2021, he was the backup for the Ville Husso and the St. Louis Blues as they lost to the Lightning 4-2.

Then, last April, the West Kingston, Rhode Island native dressed for Tampa, sitting on the bench as Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Bolts fell to the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2. He has yet to appear in an NHL game.

So, if you’re a betting man, you might want to take the Lightning to beat the Flyers by a final score of 4-2 tonight.

Before becoming an EBUG, Konin played collegiately for one season at Grand Valley State, a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. He played junior hockey for the Vermont Lumberjacks and New Hampshire Avalanche of the Eastern Hockey League, and the Atlanta Capitals of the North American Tier-III Hockey League.

Fedotov will be making his fourth start of the season, still looking for the first win of his NHL career. The 27-year-old is 0-3 this season with a 5.35 goals-against average and a .821 save percentage. His last start was on Oct. 23 against the Washington Capitals, when he gave up four goals on 23 shots in a 6-3 loss.

The Flyers (4-8-1) are tied with the Nashville Predators for the worst record in the NHL.