Dan Vladar steals Game 6 to send Flyers to second round

For most of the past 40 years, the Philadelphia Flyers have had one perpetual problem that they have never been able to solve. It is also the most impactful position on the ice.

It is the goalie.

Ever since Ron Hextall left their net, it has been a revolving door of hyped prospects, big-name acquisitions, reclamation projects and anybody else that they could throw into the situation in the hopes somebody would solve it.

To this point, nobody has.

For now, though, Dan Vladar is giving them some hope, and he is the biggest reason they were able to steal a 1-0 overtime win from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night and advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Dan Vladar is the story of Flyers Game 6 win

While defenseman Cam York will be the player who gets his name in lights for scoring the series-clinching goal, it never happens without Vladar basically putting the team on his back and stealing the game.

The Penguins were the better team for the second half of the game, dominating both the third period and the first part of the overtime period. They were all over the Flyers in their zone, created the best chances and fired 40 shots on goal. 

Vladar turned aside all of them.

The high quality. The low quality. It did not matter. He stood tall and gave his team a chance to get the one opportunity it needed.

It also continues what has been a remarkable season for him as the Flyers' starter.

While the Flyers exceeded expectations and returned to the playoffs, it was still a team that had a lot of flaws. They did not always carry play during 5-on-5; they relied heavily on overtime and shootout wins, and had a power play that was constantly a drag on their offense.

But Vladar was a consistent, steadying hand in net.

His 13.8 goals saved above expected were the 10th highest mark in the NHL during the regular season, and he followed it up with an equally strong performance in the first round.

Whether he is the long-term answer beyond this season remains to be seen. This is his first full season as a full-time starter, and goalies are notoriously hard to project from one year to the next. The Flyers, however, do not need to be concerned with that right now. All they have to worry about is whether he can do it again in the second round against the Carolina Hurricanes.