Dan Vladar was so thrilled after earning his first NHL win that he admitted he would probably be sleeping with the puck from Tuesday night's 2-1 victory as the Boston Bruins snapped a two-game losing skid against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The 23-year-old, making his first career start, stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced. He made one save, specifically (more on that later), that veterans will go their entire careers without making. And most importantly it propelled the Bruins to a much-needed win with their third-string goaltender.
"I'm just the happiest kid in the world right now," Vladar told reporters Tuesday, after explaining his first two phone calls were to his girlfriend and parents in the Czech Republic.
"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 so I really appreciate that the coaches gave me a chance. I think it was a great team effort."
He added: "I was just trying to enjoy every second, every minute out there and, as I said before, I'm just so thankful that we got the win."
Vladar earned the start as Tuukka Rask has been out since last Sunday and backup Jaroslav Halak was given a day of rest after a Monday-Tuesday back-to-back against the Penguins.
Vladar, who posted a 14-7-1 record as arguably the best goaltender in the American League last season, showed Boston's embarrassment of goalkeeping riches, which was long in the making.
"I just really enjoyed it. Today was a game I just waited four and a half years. It's been a while. And I'm just so happy that we won. All the hard work that I've done it kind of paid off, but obviously this is hopefully not my final game in NHL. So, if I ever get another chance to play again I'll try to do my best as always, that’s just mindset."
You can watch Vladar's save of the game (and perhaps young career) below:
He had a humorous reaction to that, too.
"It was just a lucky save. Like, it probably happens once in a 100 times," Vladar said while cracking a smile. "I'm just really thankful it happened today."
Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy explained the entire team stood up on the bench after it, and it gave both the group and Vladar himself confidence the they needed.
Here are some other notes from Bruins-Penguins:
-- Jared Tinordi crashed into the boards hard midway through the second period after a hit by Pittsburgh's Brandon Tanev. The team quickly announced he suffered an upper-body injury and would not return.
Cassidy didn't have much of an update postgame.
"Upper body, not great," Cassidy said. "But we'll have a better evaluation or probably diagnosis tomorrow."
-- Trent Frederic score what proved to be the game-winner at 7:07 of the third period. It was Frederic's fourth goal of the season, assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Jakub Zboril with David Pastrnak setting a perfect screen in front.
"It felt good to score, just felt good to win," Frederic said. "Right now, I guess, we're not finding the back of the net, but it's a work in progress and it's coming."
-- Vladar wasn't the only newcomer on the ice as Oskar Sheen made his NHL debut, too. The 23-year-old skated on the third line with Nick Ritchie and Charlie Coyle. He played 9:13.
"I thought he was good," Cassidy said. "I thought he was pretty good on the walls for a kid that had played more center. We'll look closer, he helped us win though. I noticed some good things, some puck battles, him wanting to attack. He put the puck on net, some were from bad angles, but that's what we're trying to build in so a shooting mentality is a good thing. So all in all, mostly good stuff but we’ll look at it."
-- The Bruins will travel to the Buffalo Sabres for a two-game set beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.
