Goaltender Devin Cooley enjoyed a stellar performance in the Calgary Flames‘ win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
Few needed to go on a tear more than Cooley, who went into Sunday’s matchup with a 5.01 GAA and an .818 save percentage. In his previous matchup vs. the Colorado Avalanche, Cooley allowed seven goals. So it was easy to count him out facing a team that came into Sunday carrying momentum.
Then Cooley stopped 34 out of 36 shots hit his way, ending the game with a .944 save percentage. The performance gave Cooley his first win, his first quality start of the season, and he improved his numbers to an .868 save percentage and a 4.01 GAA.
He still needs to put together a string of solid games to prove that his 60-minute outing was no outlier. But he took a much-needed step in the right direction.
Devin Cooley Didn’t Just Benefit From A Quiet Night
Here is where things get interesting: The Hurricanes weren’t feeling fatigue following their narrow win over the Winnipeg Jets the day prior. Carolina controlled the puck at 5-on-5 and ended the game with a 60.4 Corsi For Percentage.
Per the Flames’ official recap, Calgary surrendered 11 high-danger chances. Factor in Carolina’s high Corsi For and 36 shots on goal that Cooley faced, and they gave the Flames a game. Carolina also generated 32 scoring chances compared to just 25 for Calgary.
That said, Calgary did a few things to help Cooley. One, they stayed out of the penalty box, giving Carolina just two chances on the power play. For another, they won 56.9 percent of their faceoffs. While the Flames didn’t fare as well with puck possession, winning more faceoffs may have led to fewer chances for the Hurricanes.
Overall, the Hurricanes put up better numbers. But Cooley did enough to ensure that Calgary only needed to score three goals to win.
Cooley’s Stellar Play On Sunday Was Huge For The Calgary Flames
The Flames as a whole benefited from Cooley’s big night vs. the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Calgary has now won two out of three games, both of which came against playoff teams last season. During last Tuesday’s Frozen Frenzy, it was the upstart Anaheim Ducks. And on Sunday, it was the Hurricanes.
The Flames won both games by a combined score of 7-4. While they have a 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights sandwiched in there, it shouldn’t take away what Cooley, the Flames, and goaltender Dustin Wolf have done lately.
Go back to Wolf’s performance this past Tuesday, when he saved 23 of 25 shots and helped the Flames notch their first win. This came during a home-and-home, and Wolf also manned the net during Calgary’s first matchup with Anaheim. He allowed four goals in that game, which Calgary lost 4-2.
Wolf and the Flames had an off-game against Vegas, but he still showed he could bounce back earlier in the week. On Sunday, Cooley showed the same thing.
Should Wolf and Cooley gain consistency, this young Calgary Flames team will have fewer and fewer bad performances. The Flames will face yet another test on Thursday when they host the Minnesota Wild.
Calgary Flames’ Devin Cooley Flipped The Script Against NHL’s Hottest Team