Dan Vladar delivered a magnificent performance in net, spearheading the Flyers to a 3-1 win Saturday afternoon over the Bruins at Xfinity Mobile Arena.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old didn’t crack until there were just 6:57 minutes left in the game.<\/p>\n
“He has just had a great year for us,” Rick Tocchet said. “Another outstanding effort from him.”<\/p>\n
Travis Konecny broke a scoreless tie 3:41 minutes into the third period. Jamie Drysdale provided critical insurance over eight minutes later.<\/p>\n
Sean Couturier iced things with an empty-netter, snapping his 31-game goal-scoring drought.<\/p>\n
“I’ll take them any way I can,” the Flyers’ captain said. “It feels good, but the wins are more important right now. That’s all my focus.”<\/p>\n
Tocchet’s club was able to build off its 3-2 win Thursday night over the Rangers in overtime<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Flyers (27-21-11) won consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 3-6. That was the season’s halfway mark, when the Flyers were in playoff position after beating the Ducks, 5-2, to take over third place<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We’ve been pretty resilient, but we’ve got to string consistency together,” Tocchet said before the game. “We’ve been chasing that all year.”<\/p>\n The Bruins (33-21-5) hold one of the Eastern Conference’s two wild-card spots. This was just their third regulation loss in the last 20 games (13-3-4).<\/p>\n “I think [general manager] Don Sweeney has done a great job in they have an identity, they’re big, they’re tough, they play to who they are,” Tocchet said before the game. “I know we played them in Boston, they’re a big team. That’s a team that has an identity when you play them, so it’s a good challenge for us.”<\/p>\n \u2022 Two goalies that played in the Olympics put on a pretty good show.<\/p>\n Vladar, who represented Team Czechia, was terrific for the Flyers. He converted 26 saves on 27 shots.<\/p>\n After making a series of big stops with the Flyers on the penalty kill late in the second period, he received a standing ovation from the fans behind his net.<\/p>\n “The fans have been awesome the whole year,” Vladar said. “We really feel that they have our back. \u2026 We just don’t want to waste this opportunity, we want to play well, especially for them, especially for ourselves, as well. We need them. Great job by them and we wouldn’t be here without them.”<\/p>\n Vladar bailed out the Flyers twice in the first period. He denied Michael Eyssimont on a semi breakaway and later stopped Mark Kastelic when the Flyers’ power play gave up a look.<\/p>\n The Flyers repaid Vladar in the third period.<\/p>\n “He does so much for us off the ice, as well,” Drysdale said. “In the locker room in between periods, he’s always talking, just saying whatever’s on his mind and usually it’s awesome stuff coming out of his mouth. Real positive guy.”<\/p>\n Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman, who played for Team USA, made 14 saves on the Flyers’ 16 shots.<\/p>\n The 27-year-old robbed Christian Dvorak in close during the second period to keep the game scoreless. That came 53 seconds after Vladar turned away Morgan Geekie right around the doorstep.<\/p>\n More: How an ‘honest talk’ shaped Vladar’s breakout with Flyers<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Flyers let in one goal thanks to stellar goaltender play, and an adjusted defensive plan\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0The Flyers have 23 games left and two to go before next Friday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.<\/p>\n They entered Saturday eight points behind the third-place Islanders in the Metropolitan Division race. They’re six points back of the Bruins in the wild-card hunt.<\/p>\n “We’re a confident group, we knew we have it in us,” Vladar said. “We had it at the beginning of the year, then it kind of slipped away. We’ve just got to find the swagger back because we have it here.”<\/p>\n General manager Danny Briere is not expected to be a major seller. After all, the Flyers didn’t want this season to be about subtraction<\/a>. But we’ll see if Briere looks to make a future-centric move for the rebuild.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u2022 Dvorak was quietly effective all game. He had a good stick defensively a couple of times and picked up helpers on both of the Flyers’ goals.<\/p>\n The Flyers needed that from him. Over the previous nine games, Dvorak had recorded only two points (both assists).<\/p>\n “Just stay within yourself, we’re not looking for anything more; just who he is,” Tocchet said. “He had a solid game.”<\/p>\n