The Philadelphia Flyers entered training camp with an open competition in the crease. Sam Ersson, who started 94 games over the last two seasons, was the presumed starter — or at least 1A in the tandem — with free-agent addition Daniel Vladar competing with him for starts.
Well, Vladar looked better than Ersson in the preseason, and that earned him the starting nod on opening night against the Panthers. Since then, Ersson and Vladar have alternated starts through the Flyers’ first five games.
Until now at least.
Dan Vladar getting second straight start
Rick Tocchet told the media on Monday morning that Vladar will once again start in net for Monday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken. And that might just be the right choice for the Flyers.
“He’s played well, he deserves to go in the net,” Tocchet said Monday morning. “To read into it, I’m not sure. He’s played well, (so) why not?”
It’s an extremely small sample size, but Vladar has stopped 71 of 76 shots for a .934 save percentage and 1.65 goals-against average in three starts this season while Ersson has stopped 45 of 53 shots for a .849 SV% and 3.88 GAA in his two starts.
Looking into the advanced numbers, Vladar has a goals saved above average (GSAA) of 2.69, the ninth-best in the league this season, with Ersson at -2.64, the 10th-worst. Those numbers are in all situations, but the ranks hold when looking at 5-on-5, where Vladar has a 2.56 GSAA with Ersson at -2.61.
And if you’ve watched all — or even most — of the Flyers’ games this season, you can tell just by the good ole eye test that Vladar has looked better and more confident in net. That’s not to say that Ersson can’t still be a solid goalie at the NHL level, but the 28-year-old Vladar came to Philadelphia looking for a chance at a starting job.
“I wasn’t satisfied with my role in Calgary, and I want to keep moving forward,” Vladar said in his introductory press conference. “I just felt like Philly is the best path for me going forward. I’m 100 percent confident that I have a lot more in me.”
One of the main concerns about Vladar is managing his workload. He hasn’t started 30 games in a season in his career, reaching a career-high 29 last year. Even going back to his days in the minors, Vladar played in 31 games in the 2018-19 season for the Providence Bruins and 41 in the ECHL the year prior.
But he’s ready to earn his spot.
“Whether it’s going to be over 30 (games played) or under 30, it all depends,” he said in July. “How am I going to be playing? How is Sam going to be playing? I’ll just do my best, as I always did.”
The Flyers also seemed high on Vladar in the offseason, which is why they signed him.
“Our goalie coaches were excited about the package. There’s no perfect goalie that was available out there, but we feel he gives us a chance to come in and compete with our group and push the envelope,” Danny Briere said after the signing. “He has a chance to become our number one, depending on how he plays, how the other guys play.”
The Flyers have two days off after Monday night’s game, and don’t play a back-to-back until the beginning of November. That time off could give Vladar a third straight start if all goes well on Monday night.
Oh yeah, Monday just so happens to be Ersson’s birthday. I wonder if he’ll have a nice thermos on the bench.
HBD, 3⃣3⃣! 🥳🎂 pic.twitter.com/2NThzL1Bm7
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 20, 2025
Jett Luchanko, Nikita Grebenkin re-enter Flyers’ lineup
The Flyers won on Saturday night, but Tocchet isn’t sticking with that same lineup. Nicolas Deslauriers did his job to get the crowd going with a fight against Marcus Foligno, but he and Rodrigo Abols will be healthy scratches on Monday night.
That means that rookies Jett Lucanko and Nikita Grebenkin will return to the lineup. Both youngsters have had their rough patches to begin the season, and time could be running out for Luchanko to prove that he should stay in the NHL.
The 19-year-old center has played 7;40, 8:49, and 10:40 in his three games this season and has yet to record a point. Grebenkin has seen slightly more ice time and picked up an assist in his first game of the year.
Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. ET on Monday night.
