Ad Disclosure
It’s High Time for a Dan Vladar Appreciation Blog (This Guy Rules)
By Matt Schultz
Published:
Winning a playoff series is never the result of one person’s play, but in the Flyers’ 4-2 first-round series win over Pittsburgh, Dan Vladar got about as close as it gets.
In his first-ever taste of the postseason, Vladar was simply outstanding. Philly’s goaltender posted a .937 save percentage and 1.61 goals against average with two shutouts in six games – one on Wednesday night with a chance to close out the series. In a Game 6 that went 17 minutes into overtime, the 28-year-old managed to stop all 42 shots that came his way – 42! – and it looked even more impressive than it sounds.
The longer the game went on without Pittsburgh finding a way to score, the Penguins’ desperation became more and more palpable, and they started absolutely swarming in the offensive zone. In the third period alone, Vladar faced 27 shots (!!!) – many of them quality scoring opportunities – and somehow kept them all out of the net:
Cards on the table: A few times during Wednesday night’s game, I said out loud to no one in particular, “They’re gonna score here.” It felt inevitable! The Pens had so many quality looks! The Flyers’ legs looked dead in the defensive zone! Look at some of these Pittsburgh chances –
But I was wrong. I own this. I lost faith. I was weak. Frankly, I’m depressed and ashamed:
Beyond his stellar play, Vladar is also showing us time and time again that he’s just an awesome guy to root for –
“There was never a doubt. I think I can speak for the whole locker room, there was never a doubt. If somebody had a doubt, it’s their problem, that’s not us. We all believed that we can do it, and for me was – nothing was changing, you know? As I said before the series, I cannot try to stop the puck harder. I can still continue to do the same things, still being positive, because you know, I – and be a good person, because I feel like good things happen to good people and we are good people in here, so we deserve this.”
There can be no doubt: This guy simply rules. And hearing the quotes from Vladar’s teammates, posted by the Flyers, it’s clear that they’re not taking him for granted, either:
“Vladdy stood on his head tonight,” Travis Konecny said after the game. “I was sitting on the bus with G Willy (Garrett Wilson) and he said ‘I think Vladdy’s gonna steal one for us at home and that’s exactly what he did. They had some great chances but he gave us a chance to stay in it.”
“He was unbelievable for us tonight,” Cam York added. “Just so many grade-A chances that they had. He just stood tall for us. I can’t say enough about him.”
Flyers fans are lucky to have Dan Vladar. No one deserves a victory lap more than this guy. Now let’s keep this thing rolling.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…)