The Calgary Flames’ short-term goal is to find a way to knock off the host Minnesota Wild on Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
As for their long-term goal, the Flames’ priority is squarely on making the postseason.
Calgary has a chance to boost its total when it faces off against a struggling Wild squad. The Flames will go for their third win in a row after beating the Winnipeg Jets and the Buffalo Sabres by a combined margin of 8-3 over the past two games.
Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf said he and his teammates were confident in their ability to make it to the postseason. Calgary entered Friday with 53 points — eighth in the Western Conference and good for the second and final wild-card berth.
“We are right in the mix,” Wolf said. “I know myself, along with everybody in this room, has full belief that we’re going to get in. It doesn’t matter how we’re going to get in. It doesn’t matter if we’re the three seed or the second wild card, we’re going to get in.”
Minnesota has the same objective, but the more pressing priority for the team is how to snap out of a skid that has lasted for nearly two weeks. The Wild are 1-4-0 since Jan. 12, and they are coming off a 4-0 loss on their home ice Thursday against the Utah Hockey Club.
Wild coach John Hynes said he needs to see more consistency from his team.
“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board,” he said.
Part of the solution likely will have to come in the defensive zone. Hynes said both the Wild’s forwards and defensemen needed to do a better job to help the goaltender.
“We can’t be any softer at the net than we were (in our last game),” Hynes said. “I’m not even talking about goaltending (Filip Gustavsson). I’m talking about what happened in front of him.”
The Wild could stick with Gustavsson, who is 18-10-3 with a 2.63 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. Or they could call on veteran backup Marc-Andre Fleury, who is 10-4-1 with a 2.60 GAA and a .909 save percentage.
Gustavsson is 5-0-2 with a 1.43 GAA and a .953 save percentage in eight career games against Calgary. Fleury is 14-7-1 with a 2.12 GAA and a .931 save percentage in 23 career games against the Flames.
On the opposite side of the rink, the Flames could call on Wolf or Daniel Vladar to start in net. Wolf is 17-7-2 with a 2.49 GAA and a .918 save percentage, and Vladar is 6-9-5 with a 3.03 GAA and an .889 save percentage.
The 23-year-old Wolf has faced Minnesota one time in his career. He did not record a decision, and he stopped 11 of 13 shots for an .846 save percentage in a 5-2 loss on Dec. 5, 2023.
Vladar has faced Minnesota four times. He is 2-1-1 with a 3.13 GAA and an .889 save percentage.
This is the second of three games between the teams during the regular season. Calgary won the first meeting 4-3 in a shootout round on Nov. 23. The teams are set to meet for a third and final time April 11 in Calgary.
–Field Level Media
