Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, the Calgary Flames outshot the San Jose Sharks 36-16, which led to a 2-0 shutout victory. This win came against a Sharks team that was playing very well, having won four straight games.
Related: Flames Beat Sharks 2-0 For Dustin Wolf’s 1st Shutout of the Season
Despite entering play on a three-game losing streak and sitting in last place in the Western Conference, the Flames made it clear they were the better team on the ice last night.
Here are three takeaways from the Flames’ much-needed victory.
60 Minutes of Domination
From the opening minute of the game, the Flames took control. Despite being held scoreless in the first period, they outshot the Sharks 13-1. Oftentimes, after a dominant period where teams aren’t rewarded for their effort, you’ll see them take their foot off the gas. In this one, the Flames did not let that happen. They came out pressuring again early in the second frame, and finally broke through on a goal from Blake Coleman.
After breaking the ice, the Flames didn’t sit back; they continued to dominate, outshooting the Sharks 14-5 in the middle frame. Naturally, as they defended a lead in the third period, the Sharks started putting more pucks on net. But, outside of the sequence in the third period, where Dustin Wolf had to make several saves within seconds, the Sharks never threatened in this game, only having two high-danger shots in 60 minutes.
From forwards, to defence, to goaltending. This was pure domination from the Flames, regardless of the scoreboard only saying 2-0, and one of those two goals came with four seconds on the clock on an empty net. This may have been the Sharks, who will likely come crashing down toward the bottom of the standings at some point. However, if the Flames deliver this kind of performance night in and night out, they could string together some wins.
Dustin Wolf’s First Shutout of the Season
It has been a rocky start to the 2025-26 season for the Flames’ 24-year-old goaltender, who is fresh off signing a seven-year contract extension in the offseason. While Wolf was not overly challenged in this game, he made every save his team needed, and they were all important, no matter how dangerous, given how well Yaroslav Askorov was playing at the other end.
Now with the shutout, Wolf has allowed three goals or fewer in four of his last five starts and one goal or fewer in three of those starts. Over this stretch since Nov. 2, Wolf has a .933 save percentage, which ranks 15th in the NHL. He has saved 5.16 goals above expected, which ranks third, and also ranks ninth over that span with 2.02 high-danger goals saved above expected.
Wolf may have struggled earlier in the season, but the Flames were not doing much defensively to help out in front of him. Now that they have started to pay more attention to the defensive end and suppress some more quality scoring chances, Wolf’s play has improved, and you’re seeing a lot more consistency.
Nazem Kadri Snake Bitten
After being held off the stat sheet in the game against the Sharks, Nazem Kadri has now gone four straight games without a goal and has only scored in one of his last six games. Through 18 games, he has only four goals, which projects to an 18-goal pace, which would be his lowest total since 2020-21, when he played 56 games for the Colorado Avalanche.
You can tell this cold streak is starting to get to Kadri. In his last two games, he has fired 22 shot attempts towards the net. Of those 22 attempts, 11 were graded as scoring chances, and five of which were also high-danger chances.
Without trying to blame him, a lot of the Flames’ offensive struggles rest on his shoulders. He is one of the few weapons this team has that have consistently put the puck in the net year in and year out. At this point, you can’t blame him, as his chance creation numbers rank among the top 10 percent of the NHL in terms of shot attempts, shots, scoring chances, and high-danger chances per game.
It’s getting to the point where it feels like Kadri needs to see one hit the back of the net before he will catch fire, and the Flames need it if they want any hope of salvaging their season.
What’s Next for the Flames?
Flames fans better be hopeful that this win can ignite something special, as the Flames are about to set off through a treacherous part of their schedule. They play one more game at home against Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets before heading out on the road.
It is a short trip for the Flames to start; however, after Saturday’s game against the Jets, they will play seven of their next eight games on the road. Beginning with a trip to Chicago and Buffalo, then returning home to play the Dallas Stars, immediately heading west to play the Vancouver Canucks, and finally coming out east for four games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Nashville Predators.
If they don’t steal some wins in this stretch, there will be no recovering. The Flames’ season will likely be sunk.
