Vladar, Konecny Help Flyers Hold Off Bruins

For two periods, it was a classic goaltending duel and neither team would budge. The Philadelphia Flyers ultimately broke the ice first in the third, and added some insurance, but the final wildcard team would not go quietly. The Boston Bruins quickly got the margin down to one and forced the Flyers to hold on.

Thanks to Dan Vladar, the Flyers were able to do just that, securing a 3-1 win over the Bruins on Saturday afternoon at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

How It Happened

The Flyers had two power plays in the first period, but were unable to take advantage. Through 20 minutes of scoreless play, shots were 7-6 Flyers.

The Bruins had carryover power-play time to start the second and got two more opportunities on the man-advantage in the period. Vladar stood tall, stopping 16 shots in second to keep the game scoreless through two.

The Bruins appeared to score at 1:05 of the third, as Hampus Lindholm's shot leaked through Vladar, but the goal was immediately waved off for goalie interference. Michael Eyssimont made contact with Vladar in the crease moments before Lindholm's shot.

At 3:41 of the third, the Flyers finally broke the ice, A fortunate bounce off the stanchion allowed Christian Dvorak to move in on goal. Dvorak dropped a pass to Travis Konecny, who buried it for his 23rd goal of the season.

The Flyers extended the lead at 11:55. Jamie Drysdale was open in the slot and fired a shot past Jeremy Swayman for his sixth goal of the season. Just over a minute later, Boston got on the board with a tip-in goal by Charlie McAvoy.

Sean Couturier scored into an empty net with 52.8 seconds to play to ice the game.

Box Score

1st Period

No Scoring

2nd Period

No Scoring

3rd Period

PHI Travis Konecny (23) (Christian Dvorak, Jamie Drysdale) 3:41
PHI Drysdale (6) (Konecny, Dvorak) 11:55
BOS Charlie McAvoy (5) (Hampus Lindholm, Pavel Zacha) 13:03
PHI Sean Couturier (6) EN (Noah Cates) 19:07

By the Numbers

Shots: Flyers: 17, Bruins: 27
Power Play: Flyers: 0-for-2, Bruins: 0-for-3
Faceoffs: Flyers: 46.6%, Bruins: 53.4%
Goalie: PHI Dan Vladar: 26 saves on 27 shots, BOS Jeremy Swayman: 14 saves on 16 shots

Key Performers

⭐ A — Dan Vladar - Vladar was sensational, making multiple saves from point-blank range and keeping the game scoreless until the Flyers could break through.

⭐⭐ B — Travis Konecny - The Flyer who broke the ice with his 23rd goal of the season and added an assist for a multi-point game.

⭐⭐⭐ C — Jeremy Swayman - Swayman had to be just as good through the first two periods and made several key saves to keep the game close.

The Takeaway

The Flyers have gotten quality goaltending all season long from Vladar, but this ranks right up there with his best performances of the season. Vladar provided time for the Flyers to eventually break through, the trio of Travis Konecny, Christian Dvorak, and Jamie Drysdale factoring into both goals. The Flyers end February on a high note, and pick up back-to-back wins for the first time since the beginning of January.