Instant reactions: Dan Vladar out-duels Jeremy Swayman for Flyers second straight win

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Dan Vladar.

Jeremy Swayman.

This national television matchup between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins at the Xfinity Mobile Arena has been a showcase of two Olympic backup netminders playing their absolute best games.

It was Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale who struck first, allowing Philly to claim a 2-0 lead, and although Olympic Gold Medalist Charlie McAvoy did pull the Bruins within one goal 13 minutes into the third, Vladar and the defense were able to lock down the regulation victory over the team currently holding down the Eastern Conference’s second wild card playoff spot.

First period

Highlight: While Dan Vladar was solid, stopping all six Boston shots on goal, and making a few big saves in the first half of the period (the Bruins only registered two SOG in the final 11 minutes of the period), the “highlight” was a tilt between Nic Deslauriers and Tanner Jeannot. DLo got off to a fast start, but Jeannot won it late, landing several big shots after getting the Flyers’ enforcer’s helmet off. Both pugilists were throwing haymakers, but it was Jeannot who got the better of Deslauriers, who walked away with a cut on his nose and several red fist impressions on his face.

Philadelphia came out of the period with a 7-6 shot advantage (and 20-18 lead in total attempts), aided by four minutes of power play time, but the Bruins will start the second with 1:44 of man advantage time thanks to Sean Couturier committing a late tripping minor.

What I want to see next period: Let’s make Jeremy Swayman uncomfortable. The Flyers’ forecheck has been a work-in-progress all season, but there were some positive signs in the final 40 minutes of regulation against the Rangers on Thursday, and Philly did have a little success getting traffic in the first, but pucks in the paint didn’t match the effort. They have to bombard Swayman a little bit with bodies AND get more pucks through.

Second period

Highlight: We’ve got a good ol’ fashioned goalie duel through 40 minutes, with Dan Vladar making 16 saves in the period and stopping all 22 Bruins shots through 40 minutes. The Flyers are trying but had a lot of trouble penetrating the B’s defense in the middle frame, registering only three SOG on 17 attempts. Swayman has been excellent, when tested, but Vladar has been the star, stopping breakaways, backdoor attempts and more to keep the game knotted at zero.

What I want to see next period: As much as I don’t want to see overtime, Vladar deserves the win, and his first shutout of the season, for his effort thus far. So, the Flyers have to figure out a way to get this man a goal (or two!). Matvei Michkov had a chance on the RW post in the final seconds of the period, but as he tried to pull the puck to his backhand and bang it into the basket, the biscuit rolled off his blade and out of trouble as the buzzer sounded. It feels like it’s only going to take one to take this game, and if the Orange & Black can win the period, they’ll reward their netminder for his heroics this afternoon.

Third period

Highlight: The Flyers, after appearing to fall behind in the first 1:05 of the period only for the first goal of the game to be disallowed to immediately for goalie interference (I’ll take it!), take the lead after a fortunate bounce off the stanchion behind Swayman to be recovered at the side of the goal and laid in front for Travis Konecny to slam into the net to give Philadelphia the 1-0 lead. The goal, which came 3:40 into the third, came on the Flyers’ first SOG since midway through the second period.

Final note: It’s a damn shame Vladar couldn’t claim his first shutout as a Flyer, but it doesn’t take away from how good he was today. While the FlyGuys earned the win, they’re still not generating offense at a level that breeds confidence they’ll be able to win down the stretch consistently, making each point in the standings they pick up bitter-sweet, at best.

Oh, and Sean Couturier broke his 31-game goal drought, sealing the victory with an empty-net goal, his first tally since December 7. WOOOO!

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