The Philadelphia Flyers are soaring through their first-round playoff series, but the status of goaltender Dan Vladar is unclear heading into Saturday’s Game 4 against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.
Philadelphia leads the best-of-seven series 3-0 after notching a pair of wins in Pittsburgh followed by a 5-2 home victory Wednesday. Vladar made 27 saves in Game 3 but injured his right arm during a chaotic sequence in front of the net in the third period.
He rested both Thursday and Friday and is listed as a game-time decision as he hopes to take the ice for the potential series clincher on Saturday.
“It’s another maintenance day for him,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said Friday. “Two days off is going to help him. That’s basically it for him. We’ll see how he is (Saturday).”
After a strong regular season, Vladar has a .946 save percentage in this series, including a shutout in Game 2. If he cannot play Saturday, Samuel Ersson will make his postseason debut.
“I feel like I’m in a good spot with my game,” said Ersson, who has not played since April 14.
Of course, it will help either goaltender if the Flyers continue to receive scoring production from up and down their lineup. The team had five different goal scorers in Game 3, including four players who registered their first career playoff tally.
Trevor Zegras and Noah Cates each had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia, which has won six straight games dating back to the regular season. The Flyers will try to ride the momentum of their home crowd to their first series victory since 2020.
“That was the craziest building I’ve ever played in,” defenseman Nick Seeler said of the Game 3 atmosphere. “The fans were fantastic.”
Part of the chaotic atmosphere was a product of a penalty-filled second period in which the teams combined for 17 penalties. Penguins coach Dan Muse was not happy about how the officials handled the physicality in that period, but his squad doesn’t have time to dwell on their recent losses.
“We have to win a hockey game,” Muse said. “So, we’ll have a practice (Friday) and get ready for that game and then go into that game and we need to win a game. That’s entirely where the focus is right now.”
Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson scored in Game 3 for Pittsburgh, which has dropped six straight contests, going back to the regular season. Malkin has two goals in this series, although that’s as many as his teammates have combined.
“Now we’re going to see what we’re really made of,” Karlsson said. “Now it’s do-or-die. The toughest game to win is that fourth one, so hopefully we can start by winning one.”
Only four teams in NHL history have come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win the final four games. It hasn’t happened in more than a decade – the Los Angeles Kings turned the trick against the San Jose Sharks in 2014 — and the Penguins have never accomplished it.
“There’s not much room for error when you’re in this position. That’s reality,” Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said. “But the fact is, we’ve got to win a game. That’s got to be our focus. You can’t grab three on Saturday. You’ve got to win one.”
