Three takeways as Dustin Wolf masterclass leads Flames to win over Jets
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
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