The Philadelphia Flyers have avoided the worst-case scenario for goaltender Dan Vladar, but that doesn’t mean that he may not miss some time.
On Thursday, Rick Tocchet said that it was “more of a maintenance day” for Vladar as the netminder didn’t take the ice for practice with the team.
“He was going to probably be off anyway, but he is a little banged up. Feels better today,” the head coach told the media on Thursday. “That’s basically all the information I really have.”
Vladar suffered an apparent arm injury in the third period of Wednesday night’s 5-2 win over the Penguins to take a 3-0 series lead. Bryan Rust fell on his arm, and the netminder was clearly in pain after the incident.
Dan Vladar was in a ton of pain after a play involving Bryan Rust falling onto his outstretched arm, but he's staying in the game 😳🤕 pic.twitter.com/IabxpLRnxh
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 23, 2026
The Flyers didn’t practice on Friday, but it was yet another maintenance day for Vladar, with the news getting worse a day before Game 4.
“It’s another maintenance day for him. Two days off is going to help him,” Tocchet told the media on Friday. “That’s basically it for him. We’ll see how he is tomorrow.”
Vladar appears to be a game-time decision for Game 4 on Saturday night. The goalie has been fantastic in his first year with the Flyers, leading from the back the whole season long. He’d even been important enough to garner some down-ballot votes for the Hart Trophy, according to one NHL insider.
The veteran has been especially impressive in the playoffs, allowing just four goals on 74 shots for a .946 save percentage, including his first shutout in Orange and Black in Game 2.
If Vladar is unable to go on Saturday night, it’ll be Sam Ersson between the pipes for Game 4.
Flyers should trust Sam Ersson if needed in Game 4
The idea of starting Ersson in a playoff game would’ve caused a lot of fear and loathing in Philadelphia just a few months ago.
The netminder appeared to have possibly played his final game with the Flyers earlier this season when he was in the midst of one of the worst stretches of his career. From New Year’s Eve through the end of January, Ersson went 2-6-1 with an .832 SV%, allowing 38 goals in 10 games (9 starts).
But the Swedish goalie finished the season strong.
After the Olympic break, Ersson posted a 6-1-0 record in his final seven starts while also making two relief appearances. He allowed just 16 goals on 181 shots for a .912 SV%, which ranked 10th among all goalies with at least seven starts in that span.
The tandem of Vladar and Ersson actually gave the Flyers a goaltending advantage over the Penguins in this series, as we saw Stuart Skinner revert to his usual self with a few soft goals in Game 3 on Wednesday night.
There are some thoughts that the Penguins may also switch their goalie for Game 4, but due to a coaching decision rather than injury. While Skinner played well in the two games in Pittsburgh, Dan Muse may want to give the Flyers a different look between the pipes. It could also be used as a motivational tactic to get his team going. It couldn’t really hurt, after all.
No matter who starts between the pipes on either side, the Flyers have clearly been the better team at 5-on-5 in this series. They’ve limited rush chances against and have been mostly able to kill plays early in their own zone.
Hopefully, Vladar will be good to go for Game 4 on Saturday night, but there should be enough trust in Ersson to close things out if the Flyers want to give their starting goalie a few more days to rest up and get back to 100%.
