Hurley-Burly: Flames goaltender Vladar burns Bruins

Dan Vladar was all business, Sunday night at TD Garden.

The former Bruin netminder stonewalled his old club, making 27 saves posting his third career shutout, as the Calgary Flames blanked Boston, 4-0, Nov. 21.

The win was extra special for the 6-foot-6, 184-pound puck stopper, who once called Boston his home.

“It means a lot,” said Vladar, 24. “I came in with the mindset to get a (win). I wasn’t trying to think about who I was playing against. Obviously, I’ve got a bunch of friends on the Bruins, and I wanted to do well, but if you come here as an opponent, you have to know your role. I knew who I was playing against, but I also know who my (new) family is.”

So when he arrived on Causeway Street, the young netminder elected not to fraternize with his old teammates before the game, or even some idle chit-chat during pregame warm-ups.

“That was just my mindset, not to even think about it,” Vladar said. “Not to walk around the locker rooms. I wasn’t even saying ‘hi’ to them before the game. I was really trying to focus on our game just to get the W.”

Johnny Gaudreau undoubtedly helped ease any of the goaltenders anxiety. The former Boston College star rifled a cross-ice feed from Matthew Tkachuk past Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman just 1:29 into the contest, giving the Flames all the offense they’d need.

Another former Eagle, defenseman Noah Hanifin, furthered the cause cashing in on a second period tally.  And when Andrew Mangipane and Mikael Backlund traded third period goals roughly a minute apart, the win seemed eminent.

Vladar remained calm, cool and collected, stopping everything thrown his way, including 4 shots by Taylor Hall, enroute to the shutout victory.

“Obviously, it was great to score an early goal, that settled my game,” Vladar said. “I knew the guys had my back. They knew I was coming into a building where I basically grew up as a player. It wasn’t that easy. I wanted to enjoy it, but at the same time I had to focus. I didn’t want to waste this opportunity to come into the building where I started.”

Vladar was drafted by the Bruins in the third round (76th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft.  He became just the 10th goaltender in Bruins history to win his first start, March 16, 2021, stopping 34 of 35 shots.

A native of Prague, Czech Republic he played a total of 5 games with Boston going 2-1, before being traded to Calgary for a third-round pick, July 28, 2021, starting a new chapter in his career.

Since joining the Flames, Vladar has certainly earned his keep. He’s sporting a 4-0-1 record in his first five games, entering Sunday’s contest with a 1.96 goals against average and .933 save percentage, including 3 career shutouts.

He currently backs up Flames starter Jacob Markstrom, forming a highly effective tandem going a combined 11-3-5 this season, with the pair posting 7 shutouts over the last 19 games.

So what’s been the secret behind their success?

“Ask our goalie coach,” Vladar said. “Our defense and the team as a whole are doing a great job. They’re boxing out and they clear all the rebounds.”

“If you told me I’d have a shutout a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t believe it,” he added. “Obviously it’s great, but we’re still at the start of the season, so we’ve got to keep going. We’re heading back home to play Chicago on Tuesday.  I’m going to enjoy this until midnight tonight, and be ready for practice in 12 hours. The sun comes up again tomorrow, and I’ll need to be even better than today.”

And although he may have acted a little anti-social with his old teammates, it was nothing personal.

“We obviously have lots of stories (together), but my career now is with the Flames,” Vladar said. “They are my family. I fight for them every time I step on the ice.”

The Bruins certainly learned that the hard way.