In this edition of Calgary Flames News & Rumours, Dustin Wolf was pulled for the first time this season in an ugly 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. In other news, Mikael Backlund is being listed as week-to-week after leaving Friday’s game with an upper-body injury. Meanwhile, Martin Pospisil is starting to turn things around after what’s been a rough season. Last but not least, the Flames recalled Dryden Hunt from the American Hockey League (AHL) on Friday.
Wolf Pulled Against Maple Leafs
It isn’t very often this season where Wolf has been anything but excellent, but that was the case last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 23-year-old kept his team in the game in the first period, but wound up allowing four goals against in the second. He didn’t return for the third and finished with a stat line of five goals against on 26 shots. It marked the first time this season the Flames have pulled either him or Dan Vladar.
It isn’t fair to blame Wolf in this one, as he had zero support on a night where his team was chasing the puck all night long. That said, we’ve seen the rookie goaltender bail his team out on several other nights where they haven’t been at their best. It wasn’t a great showing from him, though it isn’t something anybody should be worried about moving forward, either.
“It’s pretty incredible,” head coach Ryan Huska said when discussing the fact that it was Wolf’s first time being pulled. “When you look at the body of work that he’s put in all year long, he’s been very very consistent. For a young goaltender, that’s something that you have to tip your hat to, because it doesn’t happen all that often. He’s done a great job, and by no means was this on him tonight in that situation.”
Backlund Set to Miss Crucial Stretch
Mikael Backlund may no longer be the same calibre of player he was during the prime of his career, but he’s still a very important member of the Flames. Not only does he still provide solid two-way ability, but he kills penalties and most importantly serves as the leader for this group. That made losing him on Saturday versus the Vancouver Canucks quite difficult.
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The Flames have since announced that Backlund is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. It’s a crucial loss given that they are…
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