Beyond the Boxscore: Dustin Wolf’s lights out performance not enough for Calgary in 2-1 loss to Winnipeg

Taken By Chance – I’ll probably state this before every chance section until the Flames figure out how to score – the entire team can’t finish. They can get chances all they want but someone has got to find the ability to get the puck over the goal line and do it consistently. This is because players like Joel Farabee (87.89 SCF% // 100 HDCF%) are constantly ending up with tremendous high danger chance ratios but also sit here with just two assists in seven games to show for all that success. I don’t really want Farabee to get removed from those situations because it’s valuable to have a unit that can play three-quarters of their ice time in the attacking zone, but if goals don’t start to come with it someone else has to get the opportunity. This team needs goals and goal scorers in the most desperate way.

xG Breakdown –

xGF% – Of all the players – especially in a game where the whole team posts quality ratios – Connor Zary (48.73 per cent) needed to have a strong performance. He has been in a long-term offensive slump and can’t find a comfortable spot in the lineup. The first-round pick from 2020 got a raise this off-season, but his play has yet to improve. I think the fact I barely need to mention Zayne Parekh (87.24 per cent) is a good thing. He did not get scored on, saw limited chances against and was still noticeable when he got a chance to help attack. I like what I saw from him – he’s going to do nothing but continue to grow.

Game Flow –

Game Score –

Shot Heatmap –

In The Crease – Dustin Wolf was lights out. He was playing like a madman when the Flames killed penalties and got absolutely no help on the Jonathan Toews deflection. Was just allowed to walk right into Wolf’s kitchen and take up a residency. There has to be some change on that special teams unit to prevent that from happening. I feel bad for Wolf – his skill and level of play on most squads would have netted him 3-4 wins by now but he’s playing with absolutely no run support – basically requiring a perfect game in order to get the win. That’s not fair to the guy and the team needs to do better. Offence needs to be a priority in the upcoming practices, Wolf’s got you covered in a lot of aspects but scoring the goals is out of his range.

The Goals –

Flash’s 3 Stars –

1) Dustin Wolf

2) Jonathan Huberdeau

3) Rasmus Andersson

Oh and… LETS GO BLUE JAYS

(Stats compiled from Naturalstattrick.com // Game Score from Hockeystatcards.com // xG and Under Pressure charts from HockeyViz.com // Game Flow and Shot Heatmap from NaturalStatTrick.com)