It has been a very busy stretch for Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf and it’s also been a tough one.
Wolf has had to carry the load in net this week with backup goaltender Devin Cooley ill, starting eight games for the Flames.
He started back-to-back nights on Wednesday and Thursday as the Flames lost 4-1 in both games to the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins to kick off their five-game road trip.
Flames head coach Ryan Huska acknowledged after Thursday’s game against Boston it has not been an ideal situation having Wolf play so much.
“It’s not our intention, but sometimes situations arise and I thought he handled himself really well,” said Huska. “He always gives us a chance, and I thought he competed and battled really hard.”
Wolf has lost his past four starts, going 3-5-0 in this stretch. He has started 34 of Calgary’s 44 games this season, going 14-18-2 with an .898 save percentage and 2.97 goals-against average.
“I’m just doing what I can to try to help the team win,” Wolf told the Calgary Herald after the game. “I’ve made a couple mistakes over the last couple of games that have ended up in the back of the net. It can be frustrating, because you want to be perfect in a sense, you’re playing for your teammates and trying to keep as many pucks out of the net [as possible], but I try to do my best and a couple of errors have cost me.”
As a rookie last season, Wolf finished as the runner-up to Montreal Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson for the Calder Trophy as he took over as the Flames’ starting goalie.
He went 29-16-8 with a .910 save percentage and 2.64 GAA as Calgary finished ninth in the Western Conference, narrowly missing out on a playoff spot.
Wolf signed a seven-year, $52.5 million contract extension with the Flames on Sept. 9 that kicks in for the 2026-27 campaign.