Celebrini may be top Calder candidate but Flames' Wolf deserves to remain in the conversation The Calgary Flames (23-16-7) played one of their best games of the season, defeating the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 [https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-cgy/2025/01/23/2024020767/summary] at the Saddledome on Thursday night. Powered by the outstanding performance from Jakob Pelletier, the Flames outhustled and outworked the Sabres, piggybacking once again off of Dustin Wolf's brilliant goaltending. Calgary fed off the Saddledome crowd, which was treated to an intense battle on the ice. This gave the Flames a little momentum ahead of their crucial two-game swing through Minnesota and Winnipeg this weekend. Let's discuss their latest triumph on home ice. PELLETIER HAS A NIGHT TO REMEMBER Three months ago, the Flames had to make a roster decision and placed Pelletier on waivers [https://flamesnation.ca/news/calgary-flames-jakob-pelletier-waivers]. Fortunately, the 23-year-old cleared and reported to the Calgary Wranglers. He was back in the NHL at the beginning of December, and on Thursday night, Pelletier had arguably the best game of his career. He was flying around the ice on the penalty kill, backcheck, and in front of the Sabres' net, impacting the game on both sides. Although Pelletier won't be a scoring threat every time on the ice, he's a passionate skater full of energy and keeps things loose on the bench. After all the ups and downs of his young career, watching him play his heart out was inspiring. MORE PEOPLE NEED TO WATCH WOLF MAKE SAVES The Flames had a home game on Thursday, which meant Wolf would probably get another start. He did, making his 15th home start of the season. With another brilliant performance, making 32 saves, Wolf improved to 12-2-1 at the Saddledome. Unfortunately, Calgary plays late games for East Coast fans, meaning many people miss out on the 23-year-old's outstanding Calder Trophy season. Only recently did Wolf's name begin to pop up in the discussions for the Calder. If the Flames can qualify for the playoffs, that should give him an edge and get him some extra votes for Rookie of the Year. For years, the Flames were blessed with the talents of Mike Vernon and Miikka Kiprusoff. Both of their numbers hang in the rafters, and if Wolf continues to build off his fantastic start with highlight reel saves like he made on Thursday, there may be a banner for him one day. FLAMES OVERCOME MID-GAME ADVERSITY Calgary opened the scoring with a Jonathan Huberdeau shorthanded goal. Then they fell behind 2-1, but Nazem Kadri snapped out of his pointless drought to tie things up at 2-2. After it appeared the Flames had fallen behind the pace, letting the Sabres dominate most of the second period, his lamplighter fired up the crowd, and the team fed off the momentum. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAg5pIXxCes[/embed] Pelletier tipped home the game-winner just 3:29 into the third, and the Saddledome was rocking. On the ice, the Flames kept getting their chances, and eventually, they capped off the night with two empty goals to seal the win. At times, it wasn't pretty, and head coach Ryan Huska tried a couple of line changes to reengage his team. Once a handful of impact players got their chances and capitalized on them, things turned around for the Flames, who needed an inspiring victory ahead of two challenging games coming up on the schedule. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyMTg1MzcxNTIwMjgwMTky/thncgynews.png]
