Huska heaps praise on Wolf as Flames keep playoff hopes alive
Published
The Calgary Flames badly needed a win in San Jose against the Sharks Monday night to keep pace in their uphill chase for a playoff spot.
The Flames got off to a slow start and trailed the Sharks 1-0 headed into the third. But three consecutive goals in the span of just over seven minutes gave the Flames a 3-1 lead and an eventual much-needed 3-2 win.
Flames head coach Ryan Huska heaped praise on star goaltender Dustin Wolf for keeping the team in it despite the sluggish start to the night in which they were outshot 18-8.
"There's been a number of nights in a row where our starts haven't been good enough," Huska told reporters. "Dustin was the reason why we were in that game."
“I thought our game got better as it went on. And third period, you look at the power-play goal that we were able to score and I thought we became a much harder team to play against in the third period through the neutral zone. So, finding a way to win was important and allows us to stay in it and now we move on.”
Wolf stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced en route to picking up his 26th victory on the season.
Huska doubled down on wanting his team to come out of the gate better but reiterated getting the job done in the end is what mattered most.
“There were only a few guys that I thought were close to their best in the first period. We’ll have to fix something for Anaheim there because it’s just been a couple nights in a row. I was pleased with the way they came back though. It seemed like the third period they had a little different swagger about them, so it’s good that we got the win.”
The Flames trail the Minnesota Wild for the West’s final wild-card spot by four points with a game in hand. Calgary will remain out west to face the 34-38-5 Anaheim Ducks Wednesday and will then take on the Wild at the Saddledome Friday night, giving them a prime opportunity to make up ground.
Meanwhile, Minnesota closes out their season with four games against teams outside the playoff picture with matchups scheduled against the Sharks, Vancouver Canucks and Ducks in addition to the Flames.