Our long regional nightmare is over: Dan Vladar is back.
The Philadelphia Flyers will have their starting goaltender back for Wednesday night’s game in Columbus, Rick Tocchet confirmed this morning. Vladar had been practicing with the team over the past week, and he’s finally ready to get back between the pipes.
#Flyers have an optional morning skate. Lineup news per coach Rick Tocchet.
— Jackie Spiegel (@jackiespiegel93) January 28, 2026
– Dan Vladar starts
– Juulsen in
– no other lineup changes pic.twitter.com/fin16LaEod
That’s not the only change for the Flyers, with some defensive shuffling leaving Emil Andrae as a healthy scratch, but it’s easily the most important one.
Vladar is 16-7-4 with a 2.46 goals-against average and .905 save percentage this season. He last played on January 14 in Buffalo, allowing two goals on six shots in the first period before leaving due to injury.
That loss to the Sabres was the Flyers’ fourth in a row, and they proceeded to lose the next two before alternating wins and losses in their last four. If Vladar were healthy, you have to think the Flyers would pick up at least a few more points, especially in the game against the Rangers when Aleksei Kolosov made no saves on three shots before getting pulled.
According to Money Puck, Vladar ranks 18th in the NHL with 8.5 goals saved above expected this season. That’s a huge upgrade over Sam Ersson, whose -15.1 GSAX is the fourth-worst in the league, and Aleksei Kolosov, who allowed four goals more than expected in just four games. The Flyers sent Kolosov back down to the Phantoms to activate Vladar off injured reserve.
Vladar returning at right time for Flyers
It would’ve been nice for Vladar to stay healthy or return earlier, but this looks like a good time for the netminder to return, given the upcoming schedule.
Vladar will start on Wednesday in Columbus, meaning that Ersson should get the net on Thursday night in Boston. Ersson always seems to play better with a few days off, so giving him an extra day rather than having to start on one day of rest is a boost.
The Flyers then play at home on Saturday afternoon against the Kings, when Vladar should get the start after having two days off.
After that, the Flyers have a two-day break before hosting the Capitals on Tuesday and the Senators on Thursday prior to the Olympic break. Maybe the Flyers try to push Vladar and see if he can start both of those games, but Ersson’s recent improvements and the veteran’s workload concerns could lead to a straight split until the nearly three-week break.
Either way, getting Vladar back between the pipes will be a boon for the Flyers. They have a chance to pick up a few key wins here before the Olympic break to get back on the playoff bubble ahead of the trade deadline.
