The Calgary Flames started slow, but were able to pick up a 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres last night. The Sabres were all over the Flames in the first period, outshooting the Flames 14-7. Thankfully, Dustin Wolf was strong between the pipes, and the Flames somehow found themselves up 1-0 at the intermission.
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After that, they turned on the gas, and despite trailing 2-1 at one point in the second, wound up potting three in the third to walk away with a much-needed win. The game wasn’t as lopsided as the score indicated as two goals came on an empty net, but the Flames will take it nonetheless. Here’s a look at the three main takeaways from this one.
Penalty Kill Has Superb Showing
The Flames penalty kill has been downright horrible this season, ranking amongst the worst teams in the league. In order to stay in the playoff race they’ll need to be a lot better in that area of their game, and last night, they were flat-out incredible.
“I thought it was the difference for us,” head coach Ryan Huska said afterward. “Even some of the penalties we took, you don’t often take penalties like the last two that we took tonight. I thought they did a really good job. I thought they were composed, I thought we had some good looks on the penalty kill as well. Hopefully it’s something that that unit can continue to build on.”
The Flames killed off all six Sabres power plays in this one. Granted, it came against a team that has struggled on the power play all season long, but this can and should be a huge confidence builder going forward. It will be interesting to see how they can build on it going into two tough games this weekend.
Pelletier Shines Bright
Jakob Pelletier was rather quiet in the early going for the Flames after being recalled in early December, but has been coming on as of late. After being put on a line with Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau early in the second period, his game hit an entirely new level in this one. He finished the game with a goal and an assist and was named the first star.
“Felt unreal. It’s nice to play at home, feel like we haven’t played here in two months,” Pelletier told reporters. “The fans were unreal, so it was good.”
Pelletier, who was selected in the first round of the 2019 Draft, has had plenty of ups and downs in his professional career, but when at his best is a player capable of providing offence like he did in this one. He is now up to 11 points through 20 games this season.
Wolf Solid Once Again
Wolf has been talked about non-stop in Calgary this season, and rightfully so. The 23-year-old is giving his team a chance to win night in and night out, and was able to pick up his 17th win of the season in this one. He finished the night having kicked aside 32 of the 34 shots he faced.
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Wolf was able to lower his goals-against average (GAA) to 2.49 on the season, while his save percentage (SV%) rose to .918. Anyone forgetting to include him in Calder Trophy conversations needs to start tuning in to Flames games, as he is the biggest reason this team is in the playoff race.
Looking Ahead for the Flames
The Flames have a difficult schedule to end the week, as they face two of the top teams in the NHL standings on a back-to-back set. First will be the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, followed by a trip to Winnipeg to take on the Jets on Sunday. Both will be massive games as they look to continue to stay ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings.