Wolf’s rebound effort backstops Flames to confidence-building win

CALGARY — Staring up at the Jumbotron like everyone else in attendance, Dustin Wolf was curious as to how he did it.

How he managed to make the best of his 26 saves while lying on his stomach, kicking up his leg in desperation as Marcus Johansson redirected a Mats Zuccarello pass at Wolf’s doorstep.

“Well, I thought I was s— out of luck when he made the first pass,” admitted the Calgary Flames netminder with a grin.

“Just got some bounces tonight. It hit me, and Naz(em Kadri) made a nice play with his stick to (bat) it out of there. That’s hockey. Sometimes bounces go your way. Sometimes they don’t. And thankfully, we got a couple to go our way tonight.”

A 4-1 Flames win over the sizzling Minnesota Wild Thursday night came eight days after Wolf last saw action, when he was pulled less than six minutes into a forgettable start in Tampa, where he allowed three of the first four shots.

Giving way to Devin Cooley for three straight starts, in a stretch that saw the backup play six of seven, the hockey world wondered how the Flames’ franchise netminder felt about sitting that long. 

“It is what it is — Cools has been playing outstanding, and I’m going to support him in any way possible I can,” said Wolf, who suddenly might not have to play upwards of 64 games this year.

“When I get the tap on the shoulder to play, I’m going to do everything I can to be ready.

“No, you never want to be pulled. But you kind of use it as an eye opener and find things to work on, and just get back to playing hockey, the game you love.”

Better question: how tough was it having to stew over what was the worst outing of his career?

“S— happens,” he shrugged.

“That’s the game of hockey. I mean, you can’t let anything bother you about that.

“You can’t change what’s happened now, you can only look forward to the next opportunity, and being prepared for that. And now this one’s behind us, we got two points, and now we get ready for Saturday.”

No more guessing who’s getting the start that night against Utah.

Bouncing back the way he has throughout his young career, Wolf was particularly sharp early on Thursday, backstopping the Flames to a scoreless tie after a first period that saw him and his Flames kill off four high-sticking penalties.

The only shot to beat him came late in the second period when a Zach Bogosian point shot bounced off the stick of Adam Klapka, then Yakov Trenin, before tying the game 1-1.

Third-period goals by Connor Zary, Matt Coronato and Rasmus Andersson (into an empty net) broke open a tight, entertaining game, ending the Wild’s 12-game point streak. 

Following up a long road trip with their most complete effort of the year, the Flames kicked off their first of nine home games this month with a real confidence builder.

On a night that featured plenty of talk about the league’s hottest goaltending duo of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt, Wolf changed the narrative with the type of bounce-back effort most could have predicted.

 “I think it just maybe shows the competitive side of the player again,” said Flames coach Ryan Huska, whose decision to start Cooley for three straight sparked mild debate in town.

 “I think the time on the road gave (Wolf) an opportunity to dial some parts of his game in a little bit with (goalie coach) Jason (LaBarbera.) And I think he did a very good job of that. The last day or two of it, you could tell he was a little fiery, and he wanted to get back in the net again, which is a great sign. 

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

The Wild’s tandem is so dominant, they’ve now started to simply rotate the two.

Don’t expect a similar approach from Huska, who decided to ride the surprisingly hot hand of his backup in a fashion he likely never thought possible, given Cooley’s shaky pre-season and limited NHL experience.

“(Cooley) served notice that he’s more than capable of stepping in and playing games, and I think that always makes the partner better,” said Huska, who was asked earlier in the day if, in hindsight, he maybe rode Wolf a little too hard to start the season.

“I don’t think so. The only game maybe that I would second-guess myself, was the game in Vancouver (the second game) of the year. That would probably be about it.”

Otherwise, no regrets, which is almost as comforting as having two viable options every night you face off.

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