Backup stint a reset for Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf

CALGARY — Calgary Flames head coach Ryan Huska uttered the word “tandem,” and Dustin Wolf rose to the challenge of reclaiming his status as the club’s No. 1 goalie.

While Devin Cooley got his first significant work of the season — five starts in seven games including three in a row — Wolf had his longest stretch this season of watching games instead of playing in them.

The 24-year-old Californian put in time with goaltending coach Jason Labarbera “to just kind of work and grind and get my game where I want it to be,” Wolf said Thursday night after making 26 saves in Calgary’s 4-1 win over the visiting Minnesota Wild.

“I just didn’t have the little extra jump I normally do. Each and every practice I made sure to have that spark and felt like I had it tonight. You’ve got to keep making sure that’s there each and every game.”

The runner-up for the NHL’s rookie of the year last season was Calgary’s undisputed No. 1 in starting 18 of the first 21 games this season. Cooley was unproven coming out of training camp with just six NHL games under his belt.

After Wolf was pulled less than six minutes into a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 26, the Flames opted for a goalie reset.

Cooley’s 3-1-1 record, which included a 41-save performance in a 5-3 win over the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, prompted speculation there could be more equitable workload distribution. Huska wasn’t adverse to more competition in net.

“(Wolf) is a guy that wants to be in the net all the time, so it creates a little bit of fire in him as well,” Huska said before the game against Minnesota.

“The great part about having a tandem that are both good goaltenders, they always put pressure on each other. Devin has done that in a way where he’s served notice he’s more than capable of stepping in and playing games. That always makes the partner better.”

Wolf responded against a team whose own goalie tandem has been the talk of the NHL. Filip Gustavsson also made 26 saves in his first regulation loss in six games while Jesper Wallstedt, with a 10-0-2 record this season, was on the bench with four shutouts in his previous six starts.

But Wolf was the difference in the first period when Calgary was short-handed for eight minutes. He stopped six of six Minnesota shots on the power-play and 11 overall in the opening 20 minutes.

Wolf’s stick-shaft save on Minnesota’s leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov late in the first period, and a scorpion-esque stop on Marcus Johansson from close range in the second held the Flames in a game against a team that hadn’t lost in regulation since Nov. 6.

“That save he made in the second period, yeah, that was pretty crazy,” said winger Jonathan Huberdeau, who scored Calgary’s first goal in the second period to end his 14-game drought.

Wolf played the last 20 minutes of Tuesday’s 5-1 road loss to the Nashville Predators that had dropped Calgary (10-15-4) into the NHL’s basement.

“This time on the road gave him an opportunity actually to dial some parts of his game in a little bit with Jason,” Huska said after the win over the Wild.

“Early in the game, Dustin was excellent. I thought he made some great saves for us early on. The last day or two of it, you could tell he was a little bit fiery and he wanted to get back in the net again, which is a great sign.

“And I said this morning, when you have two goaltenders that are playing well, they feed off of each other. That’s what Minnesota’s had with their guys. And our belief is that we’re going to get that way with ours.”

Huska said he didn’t regret Wolf’s workload to start this season, with the lone exception a second road game in as many days to start the season when the Flames were in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2025.