Dustin Wolf was all smiles after picking up his second shutout of the season, kicking aside all 32 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over the Florida Panthers.
The 23-year-old, who is putting together a serious case for the Calder Trophy, put together an excellent performance after a bit of a rough stretch over his last three starts. When asked what he did differently in order to get back on track, he joked that following his performance in Dallas he “got all new gear,” and changed up his suit.
While the suit may have changed, he was being tongue-in-cheek in regards to his gear, which remained the same. After the playful joke, he got more serious about what led to tonight’s great showing.
“It’s a privilege to play in this league. There’s going to be nights where bounces don’t go your way, games don’t go your way. There’s things you can look back on where you want to be better, but it’s a good opportunity when you get to come to the rink the next day and work.”
“It was a great team effort and glad we were able to pull that one off.”
Dustin Wolf checks in with the media after earning his second career shutout tonight! pic.twitter.com/H2wr7DUp6c
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) December 15, 2024
Wolf and the entire Flames group were in need of a big performance tonight after falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning 8-3 on Thursday night. They were the better team for the entire 60 minutes, which is quite impressive given that it came against the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
“That’s a good club over there, they won a Cup for a reason,” Wolf said. “I think it should give our group confidence that we can hang around with these teams.”
Dustin Wolf makes a great save on this Sam bennett breakaway!
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL#Flames #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/paWMCbreMn
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 15, 2024
The line of Blake Coleman, Mikael Backlund, and Matt Coronato also really impressed in this one, combining for four points and seemingly creating scoring chances each time they hit the ice. This isn’t unfamiliar territory for Coleman and Backlund, who have had success when paired together in the past.
“It’s like riding a bike getting back with Backs. It’s something I’ve obviously been very comfortable with,” Coleman said. “Matty’s really elevated his game this year, he’s a big time player for us. Honestly, he’s just really easy to play with.”
The trio was close to having even better offensive outputs, with Backlund appearing to score what would have been his first of the evening in the second period. After a quick review, however, it was deemed a distinct kicking motion, which Coleman made sure to poke fun at him for afterwards.
“A little too much two touch for Backs,” a grinning Coleman said. “Maybe keep his foot on the ice and [our line] gets three tonight.”
Mikael Backlund kicks the puck into the net. No goal.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL#Flames #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/4QRmcPs6ff
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 15, 2024
Tonight’s win improves the Flames’ record to 15-11-5 on the season. They’ll look for similar results on Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins.