Heading into the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, many experts, pundits, bloggers, and journalists expected the Philadelphia Flyers to fall to the Pittsburgh Penguins. A good portion expected the series to go to five, maybe six games, and some even went as bold as 7 games.
Still, the common theme was that many future tellers put the heavy expectations on the Penguins. Maybe that was people underestimating the Flyers. Could it have been that they are tied, with Pittsburgh, for the fewest points in the East playoffs? Or was it the lack of regulation wins?
It seemed like not many had taken the Flyers seriously.
On Monday, they took a strong 2-0 lead in the series before heading back to home ice. They found scoring from the top of their lineup as well as the bottom in their 3-0 shutout win against the Penguins.
After another slow first period, the Flyers took command of the game with a strong second period, scoring twice. The third period opened, and the Flyers were certainly taking fewer risks and trying to keep things out of their own zone.
The strategy worked in their favor, as the Penguins never broke through. After 82 games without a shutout, the Flyers blanked their first opponent in the second game of the postseason.
If it did not happen after Game 1, the Flyers put the league on notice after Game 2. People are starting to realize that this is not a team to underestimate.
I caught some slack on socials for using the phrase “stealing game 1,” so let me be clear when I say this. Going on the road, and taking not one, but two games from the favored team on THEIR home ice to start a series is impressive.
Read More: Dan Vladar Delivers 27-Save Shutout, Flyers Take 2-0 Series Lead Back to Philly
Let’s start with the obvious talking point from Monday’s win. Dan Vladar is absolutely incredible and has been all season for the Flyers.
Watching Vladar transform from a relatively unknown backup to a team MVP and deserving Hart votes has been fantastic to see. Like Zack Baun, when he signed with the Eagles, Vladar has made an impact in Year 1 at a position that has been needed for years.
My initial Eagles-comp for Dan Vladar has to be Zack BaunReclamation, cheap signing that blew expectations out of the water. Albeit, Vladar plays a much more important position, he’s probably a lesser overall player. 2022 James Bradberry also applies
P.S. Jake, if you see this, please don’t ever mention James Bradberry again.
On to Monday night, it was typical Flyers hockey and Vladar. He did not see a ton of shots early. The ones he did, he made the big stop. As the game went on and the Penguins grew more desperate, Vladar rose to the occasion.
He was sensational. I could run out of adjectives talking about his 27-save shutout.
There was a moment in the 3rd period while it was still a 2-0 game, where a shot came from the high slot, and I beleive it was Malkin who was there to redirect it. Vladar anticipated that and made a flashy glove save to halt all momentum.
For me, that was the moment when I went from confident to certain he would end the game with his first Flyers shutout.
Goaltending is a huge reason that the Flyers are in this position, and why the series is heading back to Philly 2-0.
I won’t harp on this too much, since we talked about it yesterday.
The 19-year-old phenom has now played in 2 career Stanley Cup Playoff games. He has 2 career playoff game-winning goals. Not too shabby for someone who was in a lecture hall this time last month (college athletes go to class, right?).