For several years, Dustin Wolf had been talked about as the goalie of the future for the Calgary Flames. The future is now.
The 23-year-old has been stellar in his first full NHL season, going 16-7-2 with two shutouts, a 2.50 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in 25 games. The Flames will look for that success to continue when they hosts the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
A seventh-round pick (214th overall) of the Flames in 2019, Wolf has been given time to develop since getting a three-game taste of pro hockey in the 2020-21 season before returning to his junior team in the Western Hockey League.
Wolf spent each of the next three seasons primarily in the American Hockey League before earning an NHL roster spot this season. He has been eased into his first full NHL season, alternating starts with Dan Vladar every game or two. Lately, though, he has seized the reins with 11 starts in the Flames’ past 15 games and is 8-2-1 in those outings.
That includes a 38-save performance in their 3-1 win against the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
“Just makes really tough saves look really routine and really easy,” Calgary forward Blake Coleman said. “Definitely a calming presence for us. Some of the backdoor stops he made (Saturday), it’s fun to watch, honestly. It takes a little bit of the stress out of it for us, honestly. He’s obviously a huge part of why we come out with two points.”
Calgary holds the second wild-card berth in the Western Conference as the team looks to reach the postseason for the first time since 2021-22.
Thursday’s tilt marks a quick visit home for the Flames, who are coming off a four-game road trip in which they went 2-2-0. They have enjoyed the comforts of home this season, going 14-6-3 as the hosts compared to an 8-10-4 record as the visitors.
The Sabres, meanwhile, head into the matchup looking to build off a 3-2 road win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Down by one after two periods, Buffalo scored twice in just under five minutes in the third period to take the lead.
Rookie Jiri Kulich shined in the victory, scoring the equalizer and assisting on the other two tallies — both of which came off key face-off wins. The 20-year-old, who returned to the lineup Monday after missing four games with a lower-body injury, has impressed since coach Lindy Ruff moved him to his natural center position at the end of November.
He had two goals and zero assists in his first 17 games. He has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his past 16 outings and ranks fourth among NHL rookies in that stretch.
“Real impressive,” Ruff said. “We knew how well he’d been playing before he went out. I mean, we talked about center or wing, I think he’s proven now that he can play in the middle and he can carry the puck through the neutral zone, he can win key face-offs for us, and defensively he’s been really strong.”
Buffalo will be looking to win consecutive games for just the second time in 11 games after going 4-5-1.
