While the hockey world runs out of ways to describe just how resilient the Calgary Flames have been of late, Morgan Frost summed his squad up well.
“Pesky Flames,” he laughed late Monday, following the team’s latest third-period comeback.
“Seems we’re always coming back.”
Different cities, different heroes, different scripts, but the constant has been Dustin Wolf and a belief that has allowed the Flames to stay in a playoff race that seemed all but ready to end during so many games of late.
A 3-2 win in San Jose now has the Flames sitting just four points back of eighth-place Minnesota with a game in hand and five games remaining.
The two clubs meet in Calgary on Friday.
For the sixth time this season, the Flames erased a deficit heading into the third period, giving them six comeback wins in the last three weeks alone.
Down 1-0 after a first period in which the dominant Sharks fired 18 shots on net, the Flames relied heavily on Wolf to keep it within reach for their seemingly inevitable comeback.
Making several circus saves, including four on fellow Calder candidate Macklin Celebrini, Wolf held the fort until eight minutes into the third when a Martin Pospisil arm injury set the stage for the game to be turned around by a six-foot-eight hero.
Replacing the departed Pospisil on the top line for the very next shift, Adam Klapka raced down the ice with Nazem Kadri to bang in a net-front rebound that breathed life into a season on the brink.
His next shift, Klapka drew a penalty that led to a power-play goal by Frost, followed by a Matt Coronato insurance marker.
Klapka’s 235-pound stock continues to rise, but he was quick to point to Wolf as the man who made it all possible.
“He saved our game today, to be honest,” said Klapka of the Flames backstop who made 30 saves, including several spectacular ones.
“He made some (Dominik) Hasek saves there. He’s unbelievable. I’m really happy he is doing well and showing he can be the rookie of the year.”
While Lane Hutson may be the current frontrunner, Celebrini and Wolf (two former Junior Sharks) put on Calder auditions of their own.
It started early, with a Celebrini chance in close that Wolf turned back with his blocker to set the tone in a period dominated by the hosts.
“He’s special, he keeps us in a lot of games,” said Frost.
“Some unbelievable saves, and so calm back there. It makes you feel you can always come back in a game because he’s going to hold down the fort.”
With his parents watching from the seats in which he watched as a youngster, Wolf did his best to back up his pledge Saturday that his team would indeed make the playoffs.
“There’s desperation, we’re fighting for our life every night,” said Wolf, whose club visits Anaheim Wednesday.
“We can’t really lose any hockey games moving forward, so this is a good start to the trip.”
Wolf entered the game 11-1 with a 1.83 GAA and .930 save percentage against teams from his native California.
“Just the state of California, as a whole, I want to play well,” he said.
“I’ve been up and down the state my whole youth career. I love coming back here and this is a good start.”
A handful of hours before puck drop, it became public that former goaltender and longtime broadcaster Greg Millen had passed away early Monday at his Ontario home.
The 67-year-old Sportsnet staple had become a familiar personality in Calgary the last few years as a regular colour commentator for regional Flames games Kelly Hrudey was unable to make.
A diminutive, well-traveled netminder in the NHL for 14 seasons, Millen’s frank, knowledgeable assessments on broadcasts were shaped by almost 50 years in and around the league.
Tributes and condolences for his wife and four kids poured in from around a league in which Millen was widely respected.
Out of an abundance of sadness and respect for Millen, Sportsnet opted not to produce a regional broadcast. Instead, they ran the San Jose feed on Sportsnet One.
Well aware they were carrying the load for their heavy-hearted brethren, the San Jose broadcast crew did an excellent job with a fair, balanced show.
Sharks assistant coach Doug Houda opened a second intermission interview with condolences for the Millen family, and Huska did the same post-game.
Rest in peace, Millsy. We miss you already.
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