VOORHEES, N.J. — Dan Vladar didn’t practice Thursday for what Rick Tocchet called “more of a maintenance day.”
The Flyers’ netminder has won all three games so far of the team’s best-of-seven first-round playoff series against the Penguins. He had an injury scare in the third period of the Flyers’ 5-2 win Wednesday night, but he was able to stay in the game.
The first three games of the series were played in five days. The Flyers now have two days before Saturday’s Game 4, so it sounded like they had already planned on resting Vladar for practice Thursday.
“He was going to probably be off anyway, but he is a little banged up,” Tocchet said. “He feels better today. That’s basically all the information that we have.”
Vladar has been brilliant in this series against Pittsburgh. He has a 1.33 goals-against average and .946 save percentage. The Flyers are off Friday, so we should know more about Vladar’s status at morning skate Saturday. The Flyers have a chance to sweep the Penguins when the two teams meet again at Xfinity Mobile Arena (8 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
If the Flyers need Samuel Ersson for a start, they have confidence in the 26-year-old.
“He has been great down the stretch, won us some big games,” Sean Couturier said. “Whoever’s in net, we feel comfortable playing in front of him. I’m sure Dan will be all right, though.”
Ersson went 6-1-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .912 save percentage in nine appearances after the Olympic break.
“Both goalies have done a great job throughout the year,” Travis Sanheim said. “Ers was playing great throughout the post-Olympic break. Obviously Vladdy has been great most of the year, he has been huge for us in this series. We’re happy with both guys, the way that they’ve been playing.”