PHILADELPHIA — Late in the second period of the Philadelphia Flyers’ 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon at Xfinity Mobile Arena, goalie Dan Vladar paused to refresh himself after his latest flurry of saves.
Vladar pulled up his mask, turned around to face the crossbar, grabbed the water bottle, squirted a stream of liquid toward his open mouth, slicked back his hair — and couldn’t help but take notice of the fans on that end of the ice, standing up and applauding in appreciation of his performance to that point.
“The fans have been awesome all year,” Vladar said after the game.
So has he.
Playing their third game in four days coming out of the Olympic break — and an afternoon start, at that — the Flyers relied on Vladar to keep them in it early.
He swatted away Michael Eyssimont’s shot off the rush about seven minutes into the first period. He got his right pad on a Morgan Geekie chance about five minutes into the second. He denied Geekie with 11:35 to go in the middle frame and then held the line on Sean Kuraly’s partial breakaway with 5:40 left in the second.
Geekie was denied once again on a Bruins power play with 4:15 to go in the second on a dangerous shot from the circle, and a couple of minutes later, Vladar tracked a low wrist shot from Hampus Lindholm with 2:40 left in what was still a scoreless game.
The Flyers finally rewarded their goalie in the third. Travis Konecny opened the scoring by tapping in a skillful pass to the front of the net by Christian Dvorak at 3:41 of the final frame, and Jamie Drysdale buzzed in a wrist shot from between the circles with 8:05 left in regulation to make it 2-0.
Charlie McAvoy got the Bruins on the board on an odd goal when Lindholm’s shot hit his skate and it ricocheted over Vladar, preventing him from recording his first shutout. Sean Couturier’s empty-net goal — the captain’s first goal of any kind in 32 games — secured the Flyers’ second straight victory, moving them to within six points of the Bruins for the second wild-card spot in a game they simply had to capture to keep their slim playoff chances alive.
Vladar was the primary reason they did it.
“One hundred percent,” Drysdale said when asked if the Flyers wanted to win the game to reward Vladar, in particular. “You guys saw the saves he made throughout that game.”
There may be another month and a half left in the Flyers’ regular season, but it would be shocking if Vladar didn’t win the Bobby Clarke Award for Team MVP, considering the way he’s kept the Flyers afloat. He’s now 18-9-6 on the season, with a 2.42 goals-against average (seventh in the NHL) and .907 save percentage (14th). If the Flyers had even remotely competent goaltending behind Vladar, they might very well be in a playoff position.
Vladar, 28, came to Philadelphia because he wanted an opportunity to show he could be a true No. 1 goaltender. Everything he’s done to this point suggests that that’s exactly what he should be considered.
It prompts the question: Might the Flyers try to extend Vladar as early as this summer, as he enters the second and final season of his two-year, $6.7 million contract he signed last summer?
There have been some pricey contracts for goalies recently. The New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin’s eight-year, $92 million deal is the richest in league history for a netminder, but he’s arguably in a league of his own.
A tier lower are Boston’s Jeremy Swayman — who was solid Saturday, too — and Dallas’ Jake Oettinger, who both signed eight-year, $66 million deals ($8.25 average annual value). The New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin is signed to an eight-year, $66 million deal, too.
That’s likely too long a term and too high a price tag for the Flyers when it comes to Vladar, who has already played five more games this season than his previous career high. A more comparable deal could be the one signed by 27-year-old Filip Gustavsson, whose five-year, $34 million contract extension with the Minnesota Wild begins next season.
Regardless, it’s much too soon for those sorts of discussions from Vladar’s point of view, as he is focusing much more on keeping the team in the playoff race.
“It’s too early for that,” he said. “I wanted to come here, so if I didn’t want to stay here, I wouldn’t (have come) here. But it’s too early for that. I’m focusing on my team this season and next game in Toronto (on Monday) or (whenever) I’m going to play. It’s too far ahead. I’m living my life day by day, week by week.”
Vladar’s value to the Flyers goes beyond just his strong numbers. That was reinforced again after Saturday’s game.
When Drysdale was asked if the Flyers players simply leave Vladar alone between periods when he’s so locked in, the defenseman said: “He’s the loudest guy in the room. Majorly. He does so much for us off the ice, as well. In the locker room between periods, he’s always talking, just saying whatever is on his mind. Usually it’s awesome stuff coming out of his mouth. Real positive guy, and he’s been real good for us.”
Couturier echoed that.
“He’s just so positive. Being real, being honest, also. When it’s time to pick it up, he lets us know. When it’s time to just keep pushing, keep defending well, he’s a great support back there. … He’s just been a great addition not only in front of the net, but in the locker room, he’s a great guy, great teammate.”
The Flyers have some goalie prospects in their system, of course. Despite his NHL struggles when he’s gotten a chance, Aleksei Kolosov is having a nice season in AHL Lehigh Valley. And, 2023 second-round pick Carson Bjarnason and 2023 third-round pick Egor Zavragin both have potential, too.
But Vladar doesn’t turn 29 until August. Considering his consistency and how much his teammates value him on and off the ice, the Flyers’ front office has to be at least considering whether their long-term solution in the crease isn’t someone they need to develop, but the guy who’s already residing there now.