Dan Vladar reacts to costly error that handed Penguins Game 5

The Philadelphia Flyers were unable to complete the sweep against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, as they lost 4-2. The last thing the Flyers needed to do was to let the Penguins get confident, and officially close out the series in Game 5 on Monday night. Unfortunately for them, one mistake proved costly, and it came from starting goaltender Dan Vladar.

In the second period, the Flyers tied the game up a goal from defenseman Travis Sanheim. Over a minute later, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang had a long slap shot attempt that hit the boards behind the net. The puck careened back to Vladar, who unknowingly kicked it behind him over the line to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead.

After the game, Vladar spoke about the error that resulted in the Penguins' Game 5-winning goal, describing it as "an unfortunate bounce" and said that it was a situation where he could have been better.

Dan Vladar comments on ugly own goal that cost Flyers Game 5

“I don’t know what to answer,” Vladar said, h/t The Athletic's Kevin Kurz. “It’s an unfortunate bounce, to be honest with you. You can always do something better on every single goal, doesn’t matter if it’s a bounce off the boards or a (two-on-zero) breakaway. You can always do something a little bit better. Just got that bounce that we didn’t. They were the happier team today.”

This is now back-to-back games in which Vladar gave up an ugly goal that played a factor in the Penguins clawing back in this series. In Game 4, Vladar tried to play the puck behind the net, got tangled up with Rickard Rakell, forced the turnover, and scored the wraparound goal.

Look, the Flyers wouldn't have made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 if not for Vladar. He has been the starting goaltender they have been seeking for years, and he put up strong numbers to get them there. But in these past two games, Vladar hasn't been at the top of his game, and it has given the Penguins lie in the series.

Having three wins to their credit does lessen the pressure a bit, but the fact that the Penguins look motivated after winning back-to-back games has Flyers fans understandably nervous. When a goal like that happens, the goalie hopes that wasn't the deciding factor. Unfortunately for Vladar, it was. Now, the Flyers return to Philadelphia with a 3-2 series lead. We'll see if he gets a chance at redemption, or if head coach Rick Tocchet will opt to change their luck like the Penguins did, and that's by switching goaltenders.

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