Dan Vladař’s 42-save shutout wills the Flyers to Round 2: ‘He was phenomenal’

Travis Konecny was sitting next to Garrett Wilson on the bus in Pittsburgh when his teammate made a prediction for Game 6.

“He said, ‘I think Vladdy’s going to steal one for us at home,’” Konecny recalled. “And, I mean, that’s exactly what he did.”

Cam York scored the overtime goal that advanced the Flyers to the second round of the playoffs, but it was Dan Vladař who willed that moment to happen. The 28-year-old goalie was nothing short of a brick wall in Philadelphia’s 1-0 series-clinching win on Wednesday night, saving a whopping 42 shots over three pressure-packed periods, plus 17 minutes, 32 seconds of overtime.

» READ MORE: Cam York’s OT winner eliminates the Penguins, as Flyers advance to second round for the first time since 2020

The Penguins threw everything at him. They fired pucks off his head. They fired pucks off his pads. And as the game went on, tied 0-0, they upped the ante, firing more than twice as many pucks at Vladař (27) than the Flyers did at Penguins goalie Arturs Šilovs (12) in the third period.

It didn’t matter. The netminder was resolute, saving each and every one. Vladař entered this Eastern Conference first-round series with only two games of postseason experience under his belt.

He’d never played a full postseason game before. Now, he’s played six — with two shutouts.

It’s hard to see how the Flyers advance without him.

“It’s just been what he’s been doing,” Konecny said. “It’s not surprising for us. But when he has those games for us, we need to flip the script, and get some really good games in front of him. I don’t really know what to say other than he’s just awesome. He’s been playing great.”

Despite Wilson’s prediction, there was no guarantee that the Flyers would get this version of Vladař in Game 6. He’d suffered an arm injury in Game 3, which led some to speculate whether he’d miss Game 4.

He didn’t, but in Game 5, Vladař allowed a fluky goal from Kris Letang in the second period, permitting the Penguins to live another day. Local pundits wondered whether the armor was beginning to crack.

On Wednesday night, he made it abundantly clear that it wasn’t.

“He was blaming himself,” said coach Rick Tocchet of the fluky goals. “It’s not his fault. That’s what he does. He’s taking the bullet for some guys, or the team. Taking the bullet for me.

“I love the guy … he puts in that kind of effort. He’s been great all series, he’s been great all year. But he was phenomenal tonight for us.”

» READ MORE: Flyers exceed expectations with thrilling first-round series win over the Penguins in overtime

For as perfect as Vladař was, Šilovs was almost equally perfect. He stopped the first 31 shots from the Flyers, some of them very close calls. But the Czech goalie held out, again and again, bending but never breaking.

“For me, it’s just the winning mentality,” Vladar said. “My goal is just to let one goal less than the other guy that’s on the other side of the rink.”

His teammates seemed to feed off of every save.

At least, York did. The defenseman said after the game that it felt like nothing was going to get past the Flyers netminder.

It was just about getting a decent look. And when York finally got one, he took advantage of it.

“He was unbelievable for us tonight,” York said of Vladar. “Just so many grade A chances that they had. He just stood tall for us. I can’t say enough about him.”