Dan Vladar has been leaned on all season long. The Philadelphia Flyers goalie left Wednesday’s 5-2 loss against the Buffalo Sabres after the first period.
The Flyers officially announced that Vladar was done for the night due to injury. He will be re-evaluated after the game.
10 observations on a discouraging Flyers loss, which could end up being truly devastating depending upon the status of Dan Vladar: allphly.com/flyers-sabre…
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What It Means for the Flyers
Vladar’s injury appeared to happen on the first of two goals for the Sabres in the opening period. If you watch Vladar on the sequence of the goal, he goes down awkwardly and stumbles back to his feet. He’s trying to reset when Rasmus Dahlin’s shot beats him for the game’s first goal.
Vladar stayed in the game through the first period, also allowing a goal to Mattias Samuelsson on a transition rush. The Flyers goalie was not on the bench when play resumed for the second period.
Vladar entered Wednesday’s game with a 16-7-4 record, a 2.42 GAA, and a .907 save percentage in 27 games this season. The Flyers signed Vladar as a free agent this offseason.
The Flyers were largely in the position they were in the standings because of Vladar’s success. In his first real opportunity to be an NHL starter, Vladar was rising to the occasion. He had earned the season-opening start in Florida and the start in the home opener in Philadelphia. After four games, Vladar started to get a bulk of the starts, clearly emerging as the team’s No. 1.
What Options Do the Flyers Have?
If Vladar is injured for a lengthy period, it surely puts their playoff hopes in jeopardy. Sam Ersson has struggled this season, so a lot would fall on his shoulders.
Ersson had a 3.33 GAA and an .858 save percentage following a loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday. His goals against ranked 51st out of 63 goalies who qualify among league leaders. His save percentage ranked last.
From the minors, the Flyers would likely turn to Aleksei Kolosov. Kolosov has a 9-9-1 record with a 2.54 GAA and a .908 save percentage in the AHL for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Kolosov also appeared in two NHL games this season, making seven saves in relief on Nov. 1 and allowing two goals on 21 shots in a loss to Calgary on Nov. 2.
The Flyers were believed to be considering options in goal anyway given Ersson’s struggles. Instead, it appears they may need to tap into the minors just to have another goalie on the roster. The Flyers are right back in action on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins and have a busy schedule for the remainder of January. From there, the Flyers could explore external options, but there’s not much available with so many teams vying for playoff position.
With no timetable on Vladar just yet, it’s also fair to wonder what this could mean for his status for the Olympics, just a few weeks away. Vladar was named to Team Czechia, with the belief he could even be the starting goalie for the Czechs.
Main photo by: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images