'The happiest kid in the world' - After years of hard work and tough breaks, Dan Vladar finally earned his storybook start

The last time Dan Vladar made his way off the ice in an NHL game, any positivity channeled from his first taste of game action with Boston was negated in a hurry — given both the stakes of the contest up in Toronto's Scotiabank Arena and the situation that the 23-year-old netminder was thrust into. 

There would be no easy introduction to the NHL ranks for Vladar. Rather, it was a baptism by fire in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Tampa Bay Lightning — with the green goalie pressed into service and tasked with mop-up duty after Jaroslav Halak relinquished four goals on the Bolts' first 16 shots of the evening. 

A storybook sequence was not afforded to Vladar in his NHL debut — as there were no highlight-reel snags or spirited comebacks that marked his first foray into the big leagues. Rather, it was the quite the opposite, with Boston's skaters leaving Vladar out to dry. Tampa Bay buried another three goals against him, two of which came off of breakaway bids from Brayden Point and Alex Killorn in which the young netminder, frankly, never stood a chance.

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For some goalies — or any athlete for that matter — to finally crack a staring lineup after years (if not realistically, decades) of hard work, only to have it devolve in the manner it did last August, would likely release a rush of conflicted, if not soured, endorphins.

But such isn't the way an eternal optimist like Vladar corrals his thoughts, regardless of the final result on the scoreboard.

"That's just my mindset — just to leave everything out there and if it's gonna go in a good way or bad way, it doesn't really matter," Vladar said. "Because the only thing that really matters is (how) you're feeling and that even when you lose, you just gotta go to the locker room, sit down and be like, 'You know what, I did everything. It wasn't our day today, but tomorrow is gonna be our day.' So that's just my mindset for every single game, every single practice — just to do my best and be as best as I can."

A regular-season matchup in March may not hold the same weight as a playoff tilt against the eventual Stanley Cup champions, but Vladar found himself dealt a similar hand on Tuesday to the one he drew up in the Toronto bubble seven months ago.

The circumstances surrounding Vladar's first career NHL start were far from ideal — with Boston still without Tuukka Rask due to an undisclosed ailment, and the club in need of a response after hemorrhaging points in the East Division.

So, fair or not, in stepped Vladar to try and stop the bleeding, digging into the ice between the pipes against Sidney Crosby and a red-hot Penguins team that have only dropped two games at home so far in 2021.

No sweat, right?

Even with his laid-back approach, that didn't stop the nerves from taking hold as Vladar made his way out to the PPG Paints Arena ice. During stoppages, he found solace from Jaroslav Halak and the rest of the B's bench, who offered words of encouragement in what was shaping up to be his second daunting challenge in as many NHL appearances.

Be it the messages from his teammates or his own mindset, Vladar came to terms with what was expected of him. He didn't need to be perfect, he just needed to give his team a shot.

"I just felt so much energy from them and obviously I was a little bit nervous because when you get the first start like this, you just want to show your best," Vladar said. "You don't want to waste your opportunity that you can show what you can do. I knew how I can play, but at the same time, not every day can be your best day. So I just try to do my best to give us a chance to win."

Indeed, Vladar wasn't perfect in his first career start with Boston. But he was damn near close.



In a trying stretch in which some key cogs on the Bruins' roster haven't etched their name on the box score in a while, it was only fitting that a player with just a little over 20 minutes of NHL experience helped put an end to the B's recent slide — as Vladar turned aside 34 of the 35 shots that came his way en route to a 2-1 victory and his first career win up in the NHL ranks.

Even through laptop screen via a Zoom conference, Vladar's elation was palpable as he fielded questions postgame, a plastered smile only wiped away at times by bouts of relief following 60 minutes of hard work.

"Just the happiest kid in the world right now," Vladar said. "I mean, it was always my dream to play in the NHL and I got an opportunity and I won. There hasn't been a better day for me hockey-wise."

The end result was far different from the fate handed to him by the Bolts, but Vladar kept busy on Tuesday, with the Penguins routinely peppering the net against a Bruins team that's been on and off the ropes for weeks now.

The Penguins lit the lamp off of a tap-in from Brandon Tanev off of a couple of fortuitous bounces in the first, but their best chance at besting Vladar came earlier in the period, as a point shot bounced off of the goalie's pads and careened over to Colton Sceviour — who was afforded plenty of twine to shoot into upon gathering the puck on his stick.

But Vladar had other plans for Sceviour's Grade-A look, deflecting the Pens' offering at the last second with a clutch stick save.

"It was just a lucky save," Vladar said. "It probably happens once in a 100 times. I'm really thankful that it just happened today."

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Luck or not, the much-needed stop not only sparked the B's on the bench, but offered a sign of things to come for a Pittsburgh bunch that failed to get much out of its repeated salvos against Vladar.

"It was was pretty unreal," Trent Frederic said of the stop. "But once he did that, I knew he's locked in. And we knew we had to get the win for him. He's really worked tirelessly up to this point. And he battled for us tonight."

For as much as Boston labored when it came to handing Vladar some breathing room — headlined by a largely futile five-minute power play in the closing minutes of the second — Vladar didn't budge following Tanev's tally, sealing off posts against the Pens' highly-skilled forwards and tracking pucks through traffic. A 5v5 strike from Frederic gave Boston a slim, one-goal leading near the midway point of the third period, but it was all that Vladar needed on Tuesday, as he turned aside all 20 shots that came his way in the final 40 minutes of play to seal the victory for the B's.

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Rather than a solemn skate off the ice into an equally muted dressing room up in Toronto, this story had a much better ending — as Vladar was mobbed by his teammates in the crease as soon as all time drained off the clock, earning hugs from top-line stars to fourth-line grinders before later getting the opportunity to call his girlfriend and family — who were watching from afar in his native Czech Republic.

"I called my parents and they were celebrating," Vladar said. "It's probably 3-4 a.m. back home. So they're probably going to be a little bit tired at work tomorrow. ... I just felt like they were here with me."

For his reward, Vladar was awarded the game puck, a memento that Vladar plans on cherishing for the rest of his life, and especially on this current road trip.

"I already kept it. Probably going to sleep with it tonight," Vladar said of the game puck, smiling. "I might actually buy some safe and just lock it there so no one can steal it from me."

But more than any tangible trinkets, Tuesday's win served as well-earned validation for Vladar and what has been a challenging road up to the NHL.

It's one thing to endure with a positive mindset during the expected ups-and-downs of a pro hockey career.

But even when when he was fed to the wolves of Tampa Bay last summer, Vladar remained positive — instead embracing a competitive partnership with Jeremy Swayman in net and dominating down in Providence in 2021.

Even when a high-ankle sprain sidelined him for six weeks last season, Vladar didn't fold — spending his time on the shelf working off-ice on his techniques, and promptly posting a .936 save percentage over 25 games with the Baby B's down in Providence.

And even though the odds seemed stacked against him once again on Tuesday night, Vladar — ever the optimist — finally got his big break.

"I just really enjoyed it today," Vladar said. "I just waited four, four-and-a-half years. And it's been a while, and I'm just so happy that we won.  Just all the hard work that I've done, that it kind of paid off. But obviously, this is hopefully not my final game in the NHL. So if I ever get a good opportunity to play again, I'll try to do my best as always. ... I think it's really good for us that we got the win and that we can travel to Buffalo right now and just enjoy the off-day tomorrow and just keep working hard.

"Because it's worth it."