Wolf, Flames plan to ‘shock’ people amid tight playoff race

The Calgary Flames are in a tight race for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, a position that seemed out of reach for a team that was thought to be re-tooling entering the 2024-25 season.

With 14 games remaining on the schedule, the Flames (32-25-11, 75 points) sit two points behind the St. Louis Blues (35-28-7, 77 points) for the final wild-card spot with two games in hand.

Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf has been an integral part of the Flames’ season, posting a 23-14-5 record with a 2.63 goals-against average, and .911 save percentage in 42 starts. Wolf stopped 29 shots in Wednesday’s win over the New Jersey Devils to put Calgary within striking distance of a postseason spot.

"When you come in with low expectations and come out swinging, you take people by storm," Wolf told NHL.com. "That's exactly what our team did from the very start, and we're still battling.

"I have no doubt that if we do get in, we're going to shock some people.”

Wolf, 23, has made himself one of the favourites for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year as he continues to shoulder a heavy load for the Flames. The Gilroy, Calif. native has the chance to be the first goalie to win the Calder since Steve Mason in 2009.

"Sure, it's cool,” Wolf said of being in the Calder race. “I always tell people that if I worry about how I'm playing, helping my team win, winning as many games as possible and helping us get to the playoffs, all that individual stuff takes care of itself. If you're helping your team win games, people are going to notice."

The netminder was selected in the seventh round (214th overall) by the Flames in the 2019 NHL Draft. He struggled in his first extended taste of the NHL last season, recording a 3.16 GAA and .893 save percentage in 15 starts in 2023-24.

Wolf entered the season with a chip on his shoulder after pundits and fans alike expected the Flames to be out of the playoff race at this point in the season and says the opportunity to prove people wrong has fuelled his play this season.

"I think just proving people wrong is probably the No. 1 right now. It's a daily occurrence. We come into the rink and people put us on the chopping block and they expect us to lose every night, so when we do come out and continue to prove people wrong, it's tremendous,” said Wolf. Take us lightly, and I think we can come out on top a lot of the time."

Wolf began the season splitting starts with veteran backup Dan Vladar but has since run away with the starter's job. The rookie credits Vladar’s presence and leadership, explaining that the tandem pushes each other to be better and that both will need to be at their best for the Flames to continue their playoff push.

"Our relationship has been bar none since the since the season started. We came into camp pushing each other to try to earn starts and we both believe in one another to help our team win games,” Wolf said. “He's certainly been a key factor of helping me just feel comfortable and he's just a good dude. That's the kind of teammate that you want, and that's exactly what he is, so it's been a pleasure to be a partner with him. We're going to need both of us to get to the playoffs."

Calgary will hit the ice Saturday against the New York Islanders, who are fighting for a playoff berth of their own, before returning home for games against the Seattle Kraken and Dallas Stars.

As the Flames hit the stretch run of the regular season with little room for error in the playoff race, Wolf says second-year head coach Ryan Huska has prepared the team well for the intensity of the final portion of the season.

"He's brought our team to an area where we know where we need to play. We know how we need to play. We play to our strength. We're going to out-work teams, and we're going to out-will them to score goals,” said Wolf.

“We might not score three, four or five goals a night, but we're going to win games 2-1 or 1-0 and be very happy with that. We're playing a playoff brand type of hockey pretty much the whole season, so if we get in, we're going to be well-suited for them.