Dustin Wolf records his first career NHL shutout against the Nashville Predators

The Calgary Flames defeated the Nashville Predators by a score of 2-0, and rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf recorded his first career NHL shutout.

Wolf was outstanding. He made the game look very easy and he stifled the Predators’ shooters all night long. Wolf has been amongst the best goaltenders in the NHL this year, and after being denied his first shutout late in the game on Monday against the Los Angeles Kings, he was able to lock it down tonight for his first bagel in the NHL.

The Dustin Wolf show

Wolf has been a brick wall in every appearance he has made this year and this game was no different. He made some huge saves at critical times, and he was calm, cool and collected through all of it. That is what has impressed me the most, not only tonight, but all season long – he never gets caught out of position and is always in the right place to make tough saves look easy.

While Dan Vladar has been great as well this season, it is only going to be a matter of time before the cage belongs to Wolf on a night-to-night basis. With this performance in this game, I would not be shocked to see Wolf get the call when the Flames are back in action on Tuesday. He deserves the net for another game.

I think it is safe to say that Wolf has arrived and he looks like a star in the making.

Other notes from the game:

MacKenzie Weegar was fantastic

Not many Flames skaters stood out in the game as it was a very low event affair, however, I thought MacKenzie Weegar was the Flames’ best skater.

He was everywhere, making stout defensive plays, creating chances offensively, and he had the assist on the game-winning goal from his partner Daniil Miromanov with a very slick feed. It has become almost second nature for me to be high on Weegar for almost everything he does, but when you watch how he has played this season, it is easy to see why I get so excited about what he does on the ice.

If this game didn’t convince anyone that he should be considered for Team Canada for the 4-Nations Faceoff tournament, then you’ll never be convinced. He was a rockstar in this game.

The power-play was horrendous… again

On the negative side, the power-play was awful again. The Flames changed both of their units, tried to implement a different strategy, and it still looked as lifeless as ever.

They had an almost two-minute long five-on-three in the second period and only managed one shot-on-goal in the process. It was terrible and frustrating to watch, if they want any success this year, then they must get the power-play sorted out. It was unacceptable in this one.

Big ups to Wolf on the first of many shutouts in his young NHL career.

---