Vlad to the bone: Flyers' goalie toughs it out for Game 4

PHILADELPHIA -- Aleksei Kolosov was the first Flyers goalie to hit the ice at the morning practice. Sam Ersson soon followed.

And then there was a pause.

Would Dan Vladar join them? That was the big question that everyone watching from the stands - media, broadcasters, team employees, you name it - wanted to know. 

The skaters slowly started to trickle out. But there was no Vladar. 

Everyone looked at their phones or watches - there was still three minutes until practice technically begun. then two... 

The reporters all had Twitter up on their phones. They were preparing one of two tweets, either that Vladar was on the ice or he wasn't. 

And then, he emerged. 

iPhones immediately went into camera mode. some took pictures. Others video. Flyers fans social media feeds were hit by it all at once from all sides. 

Vladar was skating. 

Dan Vladar on the ice for morning skate. pic.twitter.com/52V8DIqCln

— Anthony SanFilippo (@AntSanPhilly) April 25, 2026

It was a question in limbo for the better part of three days. Vladar finished Game 3 on the ice, but he had three different incidents that left him "banged up" and had him not practice on Thursday. 

First, he took a puck off his shoulder in the second period that stung him. In the third period, he unknowingly lost a skate blade on a shot and when he went to stand up, crumpled back to the ice awkwardly because he had no blade. 

Then, while trying to cover up a puck, he had his arm skated into and while hockey teams never disclose any injuries in the playoffs, it appeared to hyperextend his arm near his elbow, which could have hurt in many different parts of his arm from his wrist to the muscles in the upper arm. 

It was a lot for a goalie to endure in one game, and it left the media scrambling to talk to Ersson, after practice on Thursday. 

But these are hockey players. This is the playoffs. And like the black knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail they aren't going to let most injuries stop them. 

Vladar took regular warmups in the starters net. He faced a series of shots to the glove side from Noah Juulsen. He took a regular turn in drills, facing shots off the rush. He worked on lateral movement drills. He looked like Dan Vladar. 

As the morning skate was nearing it's conclusion, Vladar skated over to the Flyers bench, removed his mask, and with a big smile on his face, gave fist pounds to the members of the Flyers athletic training staff who were standing on the bench. 

As Dan Vladar left the ice (first goalie off, usually means he is playing) he took off his mask, and with a big smile went over to the athletic training staff on the bench and gave them each a hearty fist pound. Seems telling that he was happy with how he felt.

— Anthony SanFilippo (@AntSanPhilly) April 25, 2026

It was as if he was saying, "Job well done."

All that was left was the confirmation, and that came soon after when Rick Tocchet confirmed to the media that Vladar would indeed be in goal for Game 4 on Saturday night, a game in which the Flyers can advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a victory. 

"Not really," Tocchet said if there was ever any concern about Vladar not playing in Game 4. " The next day we were talking to the (training) staff and he was pretty much headed in the right direction."

The reality is, win Saturday night, and Vladar and others can really get some rest in as the next round likely won't start until some time toward the end of next week at the earliest, and possibly even later, depending on the outcome of other first round series around the league. 

So, with that kind of extended break a possibility, the Flyers want to win and clinch their first playoff sweep since defeating the New York Rangers in four games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 1995 to get everyone rest - not only Vladar. 

Both Owen Tippett and Cam York were also on the ice for the morning skate and are expected to play despite maintenance days for them on Thursday as well. 

Tippett has an undisclosed injury and York has been dealing with a rib issue among other ailments. 

Tocchet confirmed that the lineup will remain the same for Game 4 as it was for Games 2 and 3, which mean Juulsen stays in the lineup in place of Emil Andrae as the No. 6 defenseman. Juulsen had a pair of assists in Game 3. 

Tocchet is reluctant to change anything in a lineup when things are going so well, but did say on Thursday that there could be roster decisions down the line. 

For example, Denver Barkey and Matvei Michkov, while in the lineup, have had limited ice time. 

"I think every game is different and you try to reset," Tocchet said. "At the time we were up 2-0 and I just felt nine forwards, I picked the nine best forwards to lock the game down. Maybe I'd do it a little differently in February, but this is playoff time."

Trevor Zegras had reduced ice time in Game 2, playing a hair over 13 minutes. 

"He wasn't down, but he wanted a little bit more," Tocchet said. "We talked about it and look, he had a great (Game 3). Your number might be called at any time, and even if it's a player who has not played, you might get into the lineup and be a key contributor."

The Penguins are going to try that as they are in desperation mode. They are turning to backup goalie Arturs Silovs to start in goal for Game 4, replacing Stuart Skinner. 

Skinner was really good in the first two games of the series but had allowed two goals from distance in Game 3 that he probably should have stopped. 

But the Flyers are activating their defensemen more than usual. 

Through the three games, Flyers rearguards have combined for four goals and six assists (10 points) and are a plus-14. 

"This is where analytics comes into play," Tocchet said. "You tell the players where we want shots to come from more than others and sometimes missing the net in the right location is a good miss. ... Those are things we've been talking about - getting the pucks to the middle. (Having) a lot of mobility with some of our [defensemen]. Getting the two [defensemen] crossing with each other, that's helped a little bit. We've been working on it, talking about it and discussing it."