Mission Impossible? Vladar stellar again; Flyers win third straight in longshot playoff pursuit

Can we just give Dan Vladar the Bobby Clarke trophy now?

You want to wait until Thursday? Fine. Have a nice little pregame ceremony before the game against the Utah Mammoth and just call it no contest. 

Because if anyone votes for anyone else but Vladar as the Flyers MVP this season, they should have their voting privileges revoked. 

And the thing is, he feels like there's even more to give. This after yet another stellar performance in goal where he made 29 saves and then two more stops in the shootout, leading the Flyers to a 3-2 victory in Toronto, their first in Scotia Bank Arena since 2019. 

Vladar has made 35 starts. He has allowed two or fewer goals in 23 of them. 

Among the 28 goalies in the NHL who have played in at least 30 games this season, Vladar's 2.40 goals against average ranks third behind only Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tampa Bay (2.22) and Scott Wedgewood of Colorado (2.29), who are arguably backstopping the two best teams in the league.

In a post game interview that aired on NBCS Philly, Flyers broadcaster Jim Jackson asked Vladar about how he's feeling, especially since he's played in more games than he has at any point in his career and didn't really have a break, like everyone else, since he went to the Olympics as the backup goalie for Team Czechia. 

Vladar said he was "on a mission" and "has a lot more in the tank."

When Jackson asked about that mission, Vladar danced around the answer, until Jackson indicated that the Flyers goalie was referring to making the playoffs.

"You said it, not me," Vladar quipped, sticking to his superstition of not talking about the playoffs until he gets there. 

And even though the Flyers clawed back to within four points of a playoff spot by winning their third straight game on Monday - something they have not done since Thanksgiving weekend - it's still a long shot. 

According to Money Puck the Flyers odds of getting into the postseason tournament are just 11.3%. But Vladar doesn't care about the odds. He doesn't care about the naysayers. He doesn't care about the negative voices that toxically thrive on social media. 

He believes. The players believe. And, he says, there are enough fans who do believe, and that's all that matters. 

Vladdy knows the real ones are behind the Orange & Black. pic.twitter.com/1In83yPLo3

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 3, 2026

"We don't need people to believe in us," he said. "We are confident in ourselves and all the fans who are coming to our games, we know they have our backs. So, that's enough. We don't need everybody we just need the real ones."

And while some of the real ones are skeptical as well, Vladar is going to single-handedly try and drag the Flyers to a miracle finish and ensure that playoff games will be played at the Xfinity Mobile Arena for the first time since 2018.

He did it Monday against an equally desperate Toronto team and with the Flyers playing without leading scorer Travis Konecny who missed the game with an upper-body injury that the team described as day-to-day. The team also had to play half the game without defenseman Nick Seeler, who left midway through the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. 

They scratched out a pair of goals by Christian Dvorak, who has had consecutive impressive games, and Noah Cates, who has looked like a different player since returning from the Olympic break and now has five points in the four games since games resumed. 

But it was Vladar who kept the team in the game and allowed it to get to the shootout. 

Dan Vladař se v prodloužení blýsknul hned několika parádními zákroky, zápas proti Leafs tak dovedl do nájezdů, po kterých se @NHLFlyers radovali z výhry. ✌️ pic.twitter.com/VLaOGbKoqg

— NHL Česko (@NHLcz) March 3, 2026

The funny thing is, this has what people have come to expect out of Vladar, who was such an unheralded signing by Flyers GM Danny Briere last offseason. Mostly an afterthought, he was looked at as a veteran acquisition to serve as a reliable backup to Sam Ersson. Instead, he stole Ersson's job in training camp and has been a Top 10 goalie in the league this season. 

And games like this are so commonplace for Vladar these days that after the game, based on the video interviews released by the Flyers and those that aired on the post game show on television, there wasn't one question about Vladar or one comment made about him. 

Because it's no longer a surprise that he's this good in net. It's become the norm. Expected, even. 

The Flyers are doing a good job of helping him defensively, as a change to the defensive system out of the break has helped to simplify things in the defensive zone and not have the Flyers be as susceptible to back door goals. The penalty kill has also been outstanding. It allowed one goal against Toronto, but had killed off 18 straight chances before that. 

But the best penalty killer is always the goalie, and Vladar has been that - and so much more. 

And now, no matter what anyone else believes. No matter how much of a long shot it seems. No matter if they trade away their best defenseman of late in Rasmus Ristolainen (the Buffalo Sabres had four scouts and front office personnel present to watch him play another strong game in Toronto), Vladar is hellbent on completing his "mission."

And with the way he's played, it's easy to respect and admire his ambition even if it's likely that the mission will end up not being accomplished.