Dustin Wolf has all-but-claimed the Calgary Flames’ starting goaltending job as his own.
If that wasn’t clear before Saturday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, when he was set for his fifth start in six games, his performance in the Flames’ 3-1 win should leave no doubt.
To put it plainly, Wolf was spectacular against the Jets. It’s not just that he stopped 38-of-39 shots that were fired at him, it’s that the 23-year-old was faced with a host of Grade-A chances from the Jets and shut the door nearly every time.
Wolf might not have been the only reason the Flames (22-16-7) beat the Jets (31-13-3), but he was the biggest one.
“Amazing goalkeeper,” said Flames winger Andrei Kuzmenko, who scored his first goal in three months on Saturday night. “I (do) a lot of practice with him, I understand, this year (or) maybe next year he can be the best goalie in the league, I believe, because he’s unbelievable.”
Wolf was unbelievable on Saturday night and the Flames needed him to be. After a disappointing 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, beating the top team in the Western Conference was an awfully nice way of bouncing back.
It also moved them three points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks, who are chasing them for the second Wild Card position in the conference – although they were set to play the Edmonton Oilers in Saturday’s late game.
And it was an opportunity for Wolf himself to bounce back, too. He hadn’t been happy with his performance against the Blues, but against the Jets, it was a different story.
“Yeah, I mean, any time you win it’s a good day,” Wolf told reporters in Winnipeg. “It’s a good opportunity to get in there, and like I said the other day just focus on slowing down, be more patient, that’s all it is. There’s minor things that creep into your game every so often and just kind of revert back to the basics and get back to the way you know how to play.”
There were other things to like about the way the Flames played on Saturday. They scored on the power-play and killed off two penalties against the league’s top team when they’re up a man. Matthew Coronato scored his 11th of the season, too. That goal came in the first period, and we all know the
Flames have struggled in the opening 20 minutes recently.
But Wolf was the big story. His performance between the pipes ensured that.
Here’s three takeaways (non-Wolf) from Saturday’s game.
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
With assists on Kuzmenko and Coronato’s goals and then an empty-netter of his own as the clock ticked down, Blake Coleman picked up his first three-point game of the season.
And anyone who looks closely will see that the 33-year-old has heated up in recent weeks.
In fact, Coleman is actually leading the Flames in points in 2025, with eight. Yes, it’s incredibly early, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s averaging more than a point-per-game since the New Year
For a Flames team that struggles to score, it’s notable whenever anyone gets hot.
And while Coleman brings a lot to the ice beyond his points-production, it’s encouraging to see him start putting more on the board.
A GOAL, FINALLY
Kuzmenko hadn’t scored a goal in 29 games. His lone lamp-lighter this season came way back on October 15, and his struggles have seen him dropped from the lineup with some regularity over the past month-or-so.
With all that in mind, there must have been a serious rush of relief for the Russian when he fired a shot past Eric Comrie in the second period on Saturday night.
“It’s not easy, right?” Kuzmenko said of his slump when speaking with reporters in Winnipeg post-game.
“Keep working, it’s not easy for mentality, up, down, up down, missed a lot of games. It’s not easy, keep smile, keep working. You play with good team, great people, great humans, I like it. I enjoy this moment.”
The Flames could really use more out of Kuzmenko, so the hope will be that his goal against the Jets is a turning point and he finds his scoring touch.
“He’s a smart player, sometimes he likes to have people around the net when he shoots the puck because he feels there’s a greater chance for it to go in, which totally makes sense,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska told reporters in Winnipeg. “But I look at his shot as a weapon that can create some second opportunities, as well, if it doesn’t happen to go in.”
CORONATO, AGAIN
His shot continues to catch the eye.
When Coronato finds the puck on his stick in the slot, his ability to fire it quickly and into the top corner is quickly becoming one of the most exciting tools anyone on the Flames has in their kit.
He unleashed a nasty one a couple nights ago against the Los Angeles Kings, and then did it again on Saturday night to give the Flames a first period lead.
It was his 11th of the year and came after some nice forechecking by Coleman and Mikael Backlund, but the shot itself was a thing of beauty.
“It’s the quick release,” Huska told reporters. “He works to get to his spots in a hurry and he has a quick release.”
It really does feel like a long time ago that Coronato was being sent down to the Calgary Wranglers at the start of the season. He’s emerged as one of the Flames’ most effective players in the months since.