Calm-under-pressure Wolf is a key to Flames' success

Montreal Canadiens' Christian Dvorak, left, and Brendan Gallagher, centre, look on as Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf blocks the net during third period NHL hockey action in Calgary on Saturday, March 8, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

The Calgary Flames are the NHL’s lowest scoring team, yet with six weeks to go they’re in a playoff spot thanks largely to rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf.

The 23-year-old was stellar once again on Saturday, stopping 26 shots as the Flames hung on for a 1-0 victory over the red-hot Montreal Canadiens.

The win moves Calgary into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, one point up on the idle Vancouver Canucks, despite averaging just 2.56 goals per game.

“Those are fun games to play in,” said Wolf, who improved to 22-12-4. “You can’t loosen up. Those are the games you dream of playing. It’s 1-0, 2-1, those are the ones that matter the most.”

Coach Ryan Huska says he continues to be impressed by his netminder.

“Rebounds don’t come off him and he fights through traffic. He’s got a way of understanding where the shots are coming from and likely where it’s going to end up,” said Huska.

He also touched on Wolf’s calm demeanour, calling him a “cool cucumber” despite the outcome hanging in the balance with every shot faced and Montreal had a lot of them in the game’s second half, outshooting Calgary 20-8 over the final 30 minutes.

The most dangerous visiting player was Cole Caufield, who entered the game riding a four-game goal and six-game point streak, but was blanked on a game-high six shots on goal. He also hit a crossbar and put a shot over the net on a partial breakaway.

“He’s got an unreal shot. He shoots everything, and anytime it’s on his stick, I’m waiting for him to release it,” said Wolf, who played two world junior championships with him on Team USA. “It’s fun when you stop him and he comes over and we’re chuckling. I think he got one the very first game I played against him up here and now to shut him down for two is pretty fun.”

Caufield praised Wolf post-game.

“I thought we had our looks, had our chances. Credit to Wolfie. He played unbelievable,” said Caufield, who leads the Canadiens with 31 goals. “The way he competes, it’s pretty special.”

While Calgary general manager Craig Conroy was quiet on Friday making no moves at the trade deadline, the club’s only goal came off the stick of Joel Farabee, who came over in a deal on Jan. 31.

Playing on a line with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman, Farabee has goals in consecutive games and is playing his best hockey since joining the team.

“Playing with two veteran guys, it’s easy for me because they’re really responsible and they play the right way, so in my mind, I know where they’re always going to be,” said Farabee, whose goal came on a give-and-go with Backlund in which Coleman screened goaltender Jakub Dobes.

Where players switching teams on Friday will take some time to assimilate to their new team, that transition period has already happened for Farabee and Morgan Frost, who also joined the Flames from the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 31 in a trade for Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier.

“When you just jump right into a new team and games, I felt like my first however many games, I was kind of just looking around like, am I in the right spot?” said Farabee. “Whereas now, get those practices, you work on the systems a bit, it’s just playing hockey at that point.”

Huska expects Farabee to be an important player as Calgary pushes to make the post-season for the first time in three years.

“This is the fourth game in a row where he’s been a player that we’ve talked about after the game because of the way he’s played,” said Huska.

“Everybody told us he’s like Blake Coleman. … So super excited with the way he’s trending. He’s going to be a really important player for us down the stretch.”

“They’ve shown a lot of faith in us and we feel like it’s on us players to return the favour and give our fans a lot to cheer for down the stretch here and find a way to make these playoffs,” said Coleman.

Huska was happy to see his team get this opportunity to see things through.

“I really like our team. I like what they’ve done over the course of the year, and I’m happy that Connie (Conroy) and his management team, he’s going to give them an opportunity to finish what they started.”

--Darren Haynes

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2025.