In the midst of what has easily been their worst stretch of games all season, the Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers] have gotten at least some positive news in the form of the latest injury update regarding goalie Dan Vladar. Panic seeped through the Flyers fanbase when the 28-year-old suffered an unknown injury early in the game against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, and understandably so: the Flyers don't have anything close to a replacement for Vladar. Backup goalie Sam Ersson has a porous .853 save percentage on the season, which includes his relief appearance for Vladar in the aforementioned game against Buffalo. Top prospect Aleksei Kolosov [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/top-flyers-goalie-prospect-takes-center-stage-after-dan-vladar-injury], while revitalizing his career in the AHL with a renewed sense of belonging, is still unproven. The good news for the Flyers, and perhaps for the two understudy goalkeepers, is that Vladar is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to multiple reports. Bailey: The Philadelphia Flyers Still Have No Identity [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/d16306e2-bce8-4887-811c-40fa242948c1.jpeg] Bailey: The Philadelphia Flyers Still Have No Identity The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> went from rebuilder to playoff dark horse... or so they thought, and now the team and its loyal but increasingly impatient fans are paying the price. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/bailey-the-philadelphia-flyers-still-have-no-identity] NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jordan Hall was able to confirm [https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/flyers-consider-dan-vladar-day-to-day-with-injury-per-source/707914/] that Vladar won't play for the Flyers at home on Saturday afternoon when the free-falling New York Rangers come to town. So, while Ersson and/or Kolosov will need to handle business against a division rival and attempt to snap a five-game losing streak, it goes without saying that things could have gone significantly worse. As in, season-crippling worse. Kolosov, 24, allowed three goals on 16 shots in relief of Ersson against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 6-3 loss on Thursday night, seeing his first NHL action since making a spot start for the Flyers against the Calgary Flames back on Nov. 2. The Flyers would probably benefit from giving Ersson a rest and seeing what Kolosov can do with another opportunity [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/flyers-should-give-aleksei-kolosov-a-legitimate-chance-following-sam-ersson-s-injury] against the Rangers, but that has yet to be decided at the time of this writing.
