The Calgary Flames are turning to a netminder on Monday night who historically has a hot hand against the San Jose Sharks.
Dustin Wolf may have had a rough time so far in his first six starts and seven appearances this season. But he is getting the start against San Jose, per DailyFaceoff, via Derek Willis.
Looking at Wolf’s history playing the Sharks, why wouldn’t Calgary start him? Wolf has been lights out throughout his first 12 games against San Jose. Per StatMuse, “Dustin Wolf has a 10-2-0 record in 12 games with a goals against average of 2.08 and a save percentage of .919 against the Sharks in his career.”
The Flames must bounce back after dropping their previous game to the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. So it is a good idea to roll with someone who is historically a hot hand against a single team.
Currently, Wolf has an .847 save percentage, a 4.39 GAA, and a .333 quality starts percentage. But he strung together a solid 60 minutes against the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 30, with two goals allowed on 22 shots. Still, the entire team was in sync in that contest, and that must be the case again on Monday night.
Calgary Flames Projected Lineups And Pairings Against San Jose
Derek Willis also shared the lineups and pairings from Calgary’s morning skate at 1:06 p.m. EST. There are some familiar looks here, with Mikael Backlund centering the first line. Matt Coronato and Joel Farabee are the projected linemates. Coronato and Farabee have a combined eight goals and 29 points heading into Monday night.
Yegor Sharangovich is slated to appear on the second line with Morgan Frost and Aydar Suniev. Frost is just one goal or assist away from reaching his 10th point of the season.
The always-physical Martin Pospisil is the projected third-line center. He is averaging 4.65 hits per game and has 65 on the season. Matvei Gridin and Ryan Strome are the projected wingers.
William Stromgren is on the projected fourth line. If it holds, he will make his first appearance this season. Jonathan Castagna and Adam Klapka are the projected linemates.
The projected defensive pairings also look familiar, with Kevin Bahl and Simon Nemec on the projected first, Jake Middleton and Zach Whitecloud on the second, and Yan Kuznetsov and Zayne Parekh on the third. Parekh continues to make his early-season mark, with four points in his last seven contests. He had just one point in his first seven matchups.
Calgary Looks To Make It 7-3-0 In Their Last 10 Games
Calgary’s 0-5-0 start still lingers, but it is fading deeper into the past. The Flames are 6-3-0 in their previous nine contests, and few saw that coming just three weeks ago. They haven’t completely rewritten their narrative yet. But they can turn a few more heads with a win on Monday night.
And Dustin Wolf’s historical success against the Sharks puts Calgary in the best position to skate away from San Jose with the win.
Still, it won’t be an easy win. San Jose is raring to keep pace with some of the Pacific Division’s heaviest hitters. A win for the Sharks on Monday night would pull them further away from the Flames and those in the bottom half of the division standings. This potentially high-intensity matchup begins at 9:00 p.m. EST.
Flames Goalie Decision Comes With Remarkable History Against Sharks