CALGARY – Although he just fell 151 seconds and less than an inch away from making some rather obscure NHL history, Dustin Wolf showed the same resilience after the game as he did in it.
Losing a bid for his first NHL shutout on a lengthy video review that determined his glove save came just behind the goal line in a 2-0 game late Monday, the Flames netminder found levity in the notion the Kings’ spoiler opened the door for a different milestone — his first game-winning assist.
“I didn’t even know that until Huby said, ‘I think you let that in so you could be a part of the game-winner,’” chuckled the 23-year-old Flames netminder, taking yet another step forward as he continues a great start to his first full NHL season.
“It’s pretty cool.”
Told he’s now just 47 helpers behind all-time goalie assist leader Tom Barrasso, he smiled.
“That’s one,” said Wolf.
“We’ll see what happens.”
What looked like a miraculous glove save while sliding across the crease to snag a Trevor Moore shot with 2:31 remaining was later deemed a goal after a video review.
“I knew it was close when I dove over, I thought maybe my glove was close to the line,” said Wolf, talking about the only shot that beat him of the 30 he faced.
“From the view on the jumbo it looked really tight, so I thought we might get away with it, but the guy said the cam in the back of the net kind of showed it by just a hair.
“Unfortunate, especially when we had to get back on the kill right away.”
It was then the youngster continued to stand tall throughout a Kings’ six-on-four man advantage punctuated by a Kevin Rooney empty netter in a 3-1 win.
Wolf came oh-so-close to becoming the first NHL goalie in more than 31 years to record his first NHL assist in the same game as his first NHL shutout.
Only three men have ever done it, Don Edwards (1977), Steve Penney (1984) and John Blue (1993).
Groaning when hearing the news, he shrugged.
Wolf fell less than a minute short of snagging his first NHL shutout in the final game of last season.
In both cases he still managed to get the win, something he’s done in nine of his last 11 starts dating back to last spring.
On Monday he bolstered his season mark to 5-2, behind a Flames club that admitted en masse that after three-straight slow starts on the road, they finally pieced together a solid opening period and carried it through for what some called their most complete game of the season.
Outshooting the Kings 7-0 before the visitors got their first shot on Wolf 11 minutes in, the Flames were finally rewarded for their tenacity when Mikael Backlund scored midway through the game.
“He’s great, I’ve been around him for the last four years now and he’s special,” said Connor Zary, perhaps the Flames’ best forward in a game in which the Flames offered up the relentless forecheck their coach has been pushing for from the start.
“He’s so good, he’s so quick, and just the way he plays the game and the way he reads is unbelievable. So, obviously we want him to keep doing that.”
The coach was really hoping the video review was going to preserve an otherwise perfect performance.
“I was hoping that one he could have maybe found a way to keep out because he deserved not to let anything get by him the way he was playing tonight,” said Ryan Huska.
“Really good effort for him and I thought he was a guy that gave our team a lot of confidence in front of him tonight.”
Wolf’s latest win comes on a day in which Flames farmhand Devin Cooley was named AHL player of the week after recording two shutouts along with a 0.64 goals-against average and a .976 save percentage in four games.
Cooley (8-2-0) has allowed one goal or fewer in seven of his first 10 starts this season, has a 1.46 GAA, a .954 save percentage and three shutouts for the Wranglers.
Armed with a one-way contract next year, it sets the stage for a very tough trade deadline decision for the club as it debates the merits of re-signing or trading Dan Vladar.
It wasn’t all good news for the Flames Monday, who announced earlier in the day Anthony Mantha will have surgery to repair a torn ACL, suffered last Tuesday in Montreal.
It’s a tough break for the 30-year-old winger who is on a one-year, “show-me” contract with the Flames, signed with an eye on helping Huberdeau elevate his game.
He had four goals and seven points in 13 games.
The Flames called up Adam Klapka to be their 13th forward Monday.