Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf (32) saves a shot during third period NHL action against the Winnipeg Jets in Winnipeg on Saturday, January 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
WINNIPEG – Dustin Wolf agreed the Calgary Flames faced a big test against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
They passed with flying colours.
Wolf made a season-high 38 saves and Blake Coleman scored once and had two assists to lead the Flames to a 3-1 victory over the NHL’s Western Conference leaders.
“This is a great opportunity for us to kind of show what we’re made of,” Wolf said. “There’s a lot of belief in this room.
“There’s some games that maybe we’re not super happy with our performance or start or not putting together a full 60 (minutes). I think today was a great example of we just hung around, scored (two) more than them.”
Wolf’s career-high for saves was last April, when he stopped 40 shots in a 5-2 loss in Winnipeg.
The Flames led 1-0 after the first period and 2-0 heading into the third.
“The third period was a tough period for us, but you can see why they’re a good team,” Calgary head coach Ryan Huska said of the Jets.
“They pushed in the third period, and when we needed him our goaltender was our best player tonight.”
Matt Coronato and Andrei Kuzmenko, on the power play, also scored for the Flames (22-16-7). Coleman recorded an empty-net goal with 1:05 left.
The victory snapped Calgary’s two-game losing skid and helped it end a four-game road trip on a winning note (2-2-0). The Flames are also 4-2-0 in their last six games.
Winnipeg (31-13-3) has scored the most goals in the league (165), but Adam Lowry was the only one who beat Wolf.
The loss halted the club’s three-game winning streak and a five-game point run (4-0-1) in front of its eighth sellout of the season at Canada Life Centre.
“Some goaltenders can have good nights, but if we’re playing the right way and attacking the way we need to be, we’ve got to find a way to get some more,” Jets leading-scorer Kyle Connor said.
Eric Comrie made 19 stops for Winnipeg, which finished its season-long, eight-game homestand with a 4-2-2 record.
Comrie has lost his last eight starts (0-7-1). The Jets have only scored 12 goals during his losing streak.
“I feel for the guy,” Lowry said of Comrie. “He’s played amazing all year. He’s great in the locker room, works so hard day-in-day-out. He’s the first guy on the ice, last guy off.
“At some point, we’ve got to find a way: off shin pads, or bang in a few for him because he’s battling his heart out for us. We are not getting the results for him that he deserves.”
Jets head coach Scott Arniel said he’s concerned about Comrie after another loss.
“Yeah, he is taking it hard on himself. And he shouldn’t, because he’s given us a chance every time he goes in there,” he said.
It was the first time this season the Jets have outshot an opponent in regulation but lost (21-1-1).
Coronato one-timed a shot over the stick side of Comrie to make it 1-0 at 13:32 of the first period.
“It’s an important game at the end of the road trip,” Coronato said. “They’re a good team. I thought Wolfie played really, really good and gave us a chance to win.”
Kuzmenko’s second goal of the season was a low shot on the power play at 15:14 of the second frame.
The Flames are now 13-1-1 when leading after two periods, while the Jets are 1-7-1 when trailing after the second.
Lowry made it 2-1 when his shot through traffic beat Wolf at 2:15 of the third.
“I think he played an exceptional game,” Lowry said of Wolf. “He made some big saves – that one on (Connor) on the power play. I think in the third, we did a better job of getting bodies to the net, getting layers. I feel like he saw a lot of pucks.
“He’s a great goalie. If he sees the puck, he’s going to make the save. I know we threw up a lot of shots, but I think there were instances where those shots could have turned into more if we generated some more traffic.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2025.
