Celebrini may be top Calder candidate but Flames' Wolf deserves to remain in the conversation The Calgary Flames [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames/] (22-16-7) are back at the Saddledome, hosting the Buffalo Sabres (18-24-5) for their only home contest of the week. In the year's first meeting on Nov. 9, the Sabres picked up a 3-2 shootout win [https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-cgy/2024/11/09/2024020224] at KeyBank Center when JJ Peterka scored the winner in the second round. The Flames are 5-5-0 in their last ten games, having picked up a 3-1 win [https://www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-winnipeg-jets-game-recap-january-18#:%7e:text=WINNIPEG%20%E2%80%94%20Dustin%20Wolf%20made%2038,Canada%20Life%20Centre%20on%20Saturday.] last Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets. Meanwhile, the Sabres (4-5-1) just upset the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Tuesday and are 1-1-0 thus far on their Western road trip. BETWEEN THE PIPES Dustin Wolf [https://www.nhl.com/player/8481692] is back in goal for the Flames, making his seventh start in the past nine games. He's 4-2-0 in January and 16-7-2 this season. Thus far in his young career, Wolf has only skated against the Sabres once, losing 4-1 on Mar. 24, 2024, with Buffalo scoring two empty-net goals to secure the victory. At home, Wolf is 11-2-1 this season and 17-6-1 overall in his career, thanks to a 2.28 GAA and .924 SV%. His counterpart will be Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen [https://www.nhl.com/sabres/player/ukko-pekka-luukkonen-8480045] on Thursday. The 25-year-old enters the contest with a 15-14-4 record this season in 34 games. Tonight will mark the fourth time Luukkonen will play against Calgary, looking to improve upon his 2-1-0 record. In those contests, he's compiled a 3.25 GAA and .899 SV%. Moreover, he's 8-4-2 on the road this season, with much better statistics, 2.64 GAA and .915 SV% than at home. CONVERSATION STARTERS * undefined * undefined * undefined WHERE ARE THEY NOW? * undefined * undefined FLAMES & SABRES LEADERS * undefined * undefined * undefined * undefined * undefined * undefined -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Per the Flames staff at NHL.com [https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-projected-lineup-projections], here's a breakdown of tonight's lineup. (Subject to change) FORWARDS Jonathan Huberdeau -- Nazem Kadri -- Martin Pospisil Blake Coleman [https://www.nhl.com/player/8476399] -- Mikael Backlund [https://www.nhl.com/player/8474150] -- Matt Coronato [https://www.nhl.com/player/8482679] Rory Kerins [https://theahl.com/stats/player/8617/86/rory-kerins] -- Yegor Sharangovich [https://www.nhl.com/player/8481068] -- Andrei Kuzmenko [https://www.nhl.com/player/8483808] Ryan Lomberg [https://www.nhl.com/player/8479066] -- Clark Bishop -- Jakob Pelletier [https://www.nhl.com/player/8481592] DEFENCE Kevin Bahl [https://www.nhl.com/player/8480860] -- Rasmus Andersson [https://www.nhl.com/player/8478397] Mackenzie Weegar -- Daniil Miromanov [https://www.nhl.com/player/8482624] Jake Bean [https://www.nhl.com/player/8479402] -- Brayden Pachal [https://www.nhl.com/player/8481167] GOALIES Dustin Wolf [https://www.nhl.com/player/8481692] Dan Vladar [https://www.nhl.com/player/8478435] SCRATCHES Kevin Rooney, Tyson Barrie [https://www.nhl.com/player/8475197], Joel Hanley [https://www.nhl.com/player/8477810] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonight's game, which starts at 7:00 p.m. MT, is available on SN1, MSG-B, and Sportsnet+. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyMTg1MzcxNTIwMjgwMTky/thncgynews.png]
