The Calgary Flames have made their decision on the starting goaltender ahead of their Friday night showdown vs. the Anaheim Ducks.
Daily Faceoff, via Pat Steinberg, revealed that Dustin Wolf will again man the net. Interestingly, this comes with Calgary activating Devin Cooley off of injured reserve.
While Cooley was the hot hand before he went down with an injury, Wolf reminded everyone over his past three starts that he is still one of the NHL’s better young netminders.
Wolf will likely keep getting regular starts from this point forward. That doesn’t mean the Flames will relegate Cooley to a permanent backup role, given his success earlier this season. Instead, a timeshare between the two is the likelier option.
Wolf’s overall numbers are slowly improving, with a GAA of 3.71, an .870 save percentage, and a .500 quality starts percentage. Starting him on Friday also makes sense because he has faced the Ducks twice so far in 2026-27.
Wolf won one of those games, but he also lost one. If he wants to snag another win against the Ducks, he will need to come up big once again. His skaters must do the same.
Calgary Flames Lines And Pairings vs. Anaheim Ducks — Nov. 6
The Flames look like they are going with some familiar lines. Pat Steinberg shared how they lined up at practice, with Joel Farabee, Mikael Backlund, and Matt Coronato taking the first. Coronato recently enjoyed an incredible game, and he will ideally emulate that vs. the surging Ducks.
Yegor Sharangovich, Morgan Frost, and Aydar Suniev are projected to round out the top six. Frost reached his tenth point of the season with an assist in Calgary’s recent loss to the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.
Matvei Gridin also recently notched 10 points, but has stalled in the past three games. He is projected to line up alongside Martin Pospisil and Ryan Strome.
In Monday’s win over the San Jose Sharks, the Flames’ fourth line put on a show. That line comprised William Stromgren, Jonathan Castagna, and Adam Klapka. It remains to be seen if they will emulate that performance on Friday.
With five points in 16 games, Simon Nemec is still trying to find his stride. He is once again slated to pair with Kevin Bahl. Jake Middleton and Zach Whitecloud have been formidable, with 25 and 24 hits apiece through 16 games, respectively. They are slated to line up on Calgary’s second pairing.
Zayne Parekh is another blueliner looking to improve his consistency in the offensive zone. Like Nemec, he has five points in 16 contests. Parekh is projected to line up alongside Yan Kuznetsov.
Calgary’s Sound Defense Faces Anaheim’s Explosive Offense
Since picking up their first win of the season against the Ducks on Oct. 13, the Flames have allowed 26 goals and 2.6 goals per game. Calgary’s upset win put the Ducks in a slump, but starting on Oct. 24, Anaheim has been a different story.
Across their last six games, the Ducks have averaged 5.3 goals per game and have scored 32 in that span. The issue for Anaheim? The Ducks have allowed 28 goals, or 4.7 goals per game. That is where the Flames can take advantage if they can get the sticks going on Friday night.
If Wolf has another outstanding 60 minutes of play in him, Calgary may stifle Anaheim. But they must take advantage of the Ducks’ anemic defensive play.
Flames Make Telling Goaltending Decision Ahead Of Ducks Showdown