Dan Vladar Puts the Flyers On His Back in Game 2 and Blanks the Penguins
Apr 20, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar (80) during player introductions against the Pittsburgh Penguins in game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Coming into this playoff series, there were so many storylines that ultimately delivered the first playoff berth for the Flyers since the 2020 playoff bubble. The storyline that has been the most important to the Flyers locker room has been the same one that has been the overarching storyline of the season: As goes Daniel Vladar, so go the Flyers. Monday night was just another example of that and showed just how important he has been to the Flyers all season.
It’s hard to look at game 2 of a series and say that it was a must-win, and this wasn’t a must-win by any stretch of the imagination, but when it comes to momentum, game 2 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers was going to set the tone for game 3 in Philly. If the Penguins won, it would be a dogfight down to the wire; if the Flyers won, they would carry momentum going into the first playoff game in Philadelphia since 2018. As fate would have it, the Penguins will come into Xfinity Mobile Arena down 0-2 and into the dictionary definition of a hostile environment.
While the offense will get much of the spotlight, the real reason the Flyers are up 2-0 and going home with the wind at their backs is the play of the team MVP, Vladar. He was given several nicknames this season, and the one that has seemed to stick is “The Great 80,” and Monday night, he solidified that nickname. Though the Flyers’ defense held the Penguins to 14 shots in the first 2 periods, they came out for the third period pressing and testing the resolve of Vladar, and he absolutely stood on his head to pass that test.
The Penguins came out firing, and Vladar turned away shot after shot, with 13 saves in the period, most of which came in the first 5 minutes. He took everything that Pittsburgh had and allowed the Flyers to send the puck the other way. The way he took control of game two has been his playbook all season. He controls rebounds at an elite level, and we were able to catch perhaps the most important thing that Vladar does to anchor the defense: he communicates loudly and clearly, directing traffic around him. On an odd-man rush, Vladar got the attention of Rasmus Ristolainen in the third and played air traffic controller, to point out a trailing Kris Letang, which Ristolainen saw and got Owen Tippett in place to get a stick on the shot, and turned a high-pressure situation into a nothing-burger.
“When they were pressing us for about three or four minutes, and we got to the timeout,” Rick Tocchet said postgame, “and they were coming in waves at us, [Vladar] said, ‘We’re okay. Guys, don’t worry about it.’ He’s the goalie, he’s getting peppered a little bit. It means a lot because now guys are like, ‘Oh man, I gotta pick my game up.'”
This is what led to Vladar having the second-lowest goals against average among starting goalies this season, only behind Andrei Vasilevskiy. His 2.42 GAA was a huge part of why the Flyers even find themselves in the playoffs, never mind up 2-0 on the favored Penguins.
“Dan Vladar, that’s a big one,” Christian Dvorak said.
Not only was this win huge for momentum and the confidence of this young Flyers squad, but it showed the hockey world what Flyers players, coaches, and fans have seen all season — Vladar is the beating heart of this Flyers squad. The irony was that nobody other than the Flyers’ pro scouts and Tocchet had any idea this would be the Flyers’ reality at this moment. It was said that when the Flyers were looking at Vladar in Calgary, they saw a big, tough goalie who was just at the wrong end of some tough luck. With some small tweaks to his style by Kim Dillabaugh, specifically in how he goes east to west in the crease, he has transformed into one of the best between the pipes this season.
The Flyers take a 2-0 lead in this series, and this is in large part due to “The Great 80,” and it feels fitting that strong goalie play is leading the way in this series, in the year that the franchise lost its most beloved goalie in Bernie Parent. Now they head home with a 2-0 lead and can win one for not just the fans or themselves, but win one for Bernie.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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