Flames’ Cooley Has Unique Strategy to Stay Focused

Facing adversity this early into the season can lead to a lot of pressure, especially for goalies, where the standard to play well is expected very quickly, as teams only carry two to three on their roster at a time. That being said, Wolf and Cooley have both battled back, each earning a win. Wolf got his against the Anaheim Ducks in the second game of a home-and-home series, while Cooley got his against the Hurricanes. 

Cooley Staying Grounded

Cooley, who has been known for his out-of-the-ordinary interviews compared to the normal PR-trained hockey players, made it known following the Hurricanes game how he can stay focused to make big saves in key moments. “I just let my unconscious brain do everything. Don’t have too much fun. Don’t smile too much. Just shut it out and then start making saves, and then I’m like. ‘I don’t even know how I made that save.’”

During the Hurricanes game, which was also the Flames’ first win of the season at the Scotiabank Saddledome, Cooley seemed entirely focused on what was happening in front of him. Carolina generates a lot of shots; in the game, Cooley had 5.10 expected goals against, but because of his superb play, he recorded a 3.10-goal save above expected. 

The Flames also generate a lot of shots per game; the only difference between the two teams is that Calgary is taking most of the least dangerous shooting opportunities in the league. Carolina sits on the other side of the statistic, which makes Cooley’s performance even more important. He even had some very timely saves, including a breakaway opportunity during the second period when the team was down 1–0. 

They Will Be Fine 

In Cooley’s own words, both Wolf and he will be fine, and everyone should just stop worrying about the pair. If only it were that easy. During this part of Flame’s history, going through the team’s first-ever rebuild, fans seek hope and bright spots; most of the time, it’s a team’s young talent. 

For the Flames, that is no different, but they also had goaltending hopes as well, and as the young players have taken a bit of time to get going, such as Matvei Gridin not scoring his first goal till the Hurricanes game, the same grace should be shown to the goaltenders. It’s not going to be a smooth ride; there will be games where Cooley and Wolf don’t make the saves they need to, but there will also be the opposite, where they are the game changers, stealing a game from the defending Stanley Cup champions.