EDMONTON — Dan Vladar spent the off\u002Dseason diving into a things\u002Dto\u002Ddo list given to him by Calgary Flames goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera.
Vladar was certainly solid in Friday night’s NHL pre-season contest against the Edmonton Oilers, a game that came down to the wire ending 2-1 in favour of the home squad at Rogers Place.
Up until then, with the Oilers icing pretty much what’s expected to be their starters for the regular season, the visiting goalie stood tall to anchor a game Flames lineup that had only a handful of veterans. A lazy play by the Oilers led to the tying goal before the end of the opening frame. But credit Flames tryout-guy Cody Eakin for his quick thinking to knock a puck off the stick of an Oilers defenceman behind the net, sending the puck out front for Dillon Dube, who deposited it swiftly into the net behind Oilers backstop Jack Campbell.
In fact, the only way the Oilers could beat Vladar was on a point-shot that he couldn’t see. Kulak beat him through traffic, with the rubber perhaps redirecting off a body — or two — on the way past the goalie. “Our goaltending is usually pretty good,,” said Flames head coach Darryl Sutter. “Goaltending is clearly our strongest position, organization-wise. The three of them have been outstanding right through .”Article content