Wolf makes 38 saves to lift Flames past Jets

WINNIPEG — Dustin Wolf made 38 saves, including 15 in the third period, for the Calgary Flames in a 3-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.

“To get an opportunity to go right back in there and beat the team that’s scoring a lot of goals, and they’ve put up a lot of points in the standings so far to start, this one feels good,” Wolf said. “It was fun. They threw a lot of pucks at the net and gladly I was able to see most of them. It doesn’t matter how many shots they put on, it’s if we score one more goal than them (and) the whole team is going to probably be happy and have a happy flight home.”

Blake Coleman had a goal and two assists, and Matt Coronato and Andrei Kuzmenko also scored for the Flames (22-16-7), who had lost two straight.

“(Winnipeg) pushed in the third period, and when we needed him our goaltender was our best player tonight,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “This is probably the best team in the League right now, and you can see why. They have good depth through their lineup and they play the game at pace. I thought after we got through that first penalty (and Jets) power play, we started to settle down a little bit and I thought our second period was better. And as I said, I thought they pushed in the third and we found a way to hold on.”

Adam Lowry scored for the Jets (31-13-3), who had won three straight. Eric Comrie made 19 saves.

“I think [Wolf] played an exceptional game,” Lowry said. “He made some big saves — that one on [Kyle Connor] on the power play. I think in the third we did a better job of getting bodies to the net, getting layers. I feel like he saw a lot of pucks. He’s a great goalie. If he sees the puck, he’s going to make the save. I know we threw up a lot of shots, but I think there was instances where those shots could have turned into more if we generated some more traffic.”

Coronato made it 1-0 Flames at 13:32 of the first period when he took Coleman’s pass from the sideboards and went post-and-in with a one-timer from outside the top of the slot.

“I think [Mikael Backlund] and Blake [Coleman] do such a great job on the forecheck,” Coronato said. “I think the three of us as a line want to get on the forecheck, want to turn pucks over. So I think when we can turn a puck over we all know we want to get it to the net as quick as we can… I thought we were hard in our battles. We had some good O-zone shifts.”

Kuzmenko made it 2-0 on the power play at 15:14 of the second. Coleman’s cross-ice pass set up Kuzmenko to score with a wrist shot from just inside the right circle.

It was Kuzmenko’s first goal in 29 games.

“I mean, look at the shot, right?” Huska said. “He's a smart player, so sometimes he likes to have people around the net when he shoots the puck because he feels like there's a greater chance for it to go in, which totally makes sense. But I look at his shot as a bit of a weapon that could create some second opportunities as well, if it doesn't happen to go in. But he scored a big goal for us tonight.”

Lowry cut it to 2-1 when his redirection of Colin Miller’s rising point shot bounced off the ice and went between Wolf's pads at 2:15 of the third.

“They did a good job of protecting the middle,” Jets forward Kyle Connor said. “You see Adam's goal, get a guy net-front, get a high tip. Third period, we made it a focal point to try to get some more guys to the net. That being said, they weren't giving us the Grade-As, but they were really packing it in and that's why you see the shot volume that way. We were taking a lot from the outside.”

Coleman nearly scored to extend Calgary’s lead at 6:36 when his shot hit both posts before momentarily rolling along the goal line.

Coleman lifted a backhander into the empty net at 18:55 for the 3-1 final.

“We hung in there,” Huska said. “One; we got a power play goal from [Kuzmenko], which I think was an important thing for us as a team, but also him as a player. I think the other thing that we can build on is; we had a night where we had a clean sheet on the penalty kill (2-for-2), and we haven't had that in a little while. So there's a positive."

Comrie lost an eighth-straight start (0-7-1), while the Jets, who lead the NHL with 165 goals this season, have scored just 12 in those eight contests.

"It's a broken record, I have no idea why we can't score when he's in the net,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We're the highest-scoring team and it just seems like we can't get him any run support. He gives us a chance every night, I don't know what it is… [Comrie] is taking it hard on himself. And he shouldn't, because he's given us a chance every time he goes in there.”

NOTES: Calgary improved to 10-1-1 this season when holding a lead after the first period, and 13-1-1 when leading after two periods. … Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson skated in his 500th NHL game. … Flames forward Ryan Lomberg skated in his 300th NHL game. … Winnipeg is 1-7-1 this season when trailing after two periods. … The Jets dropped to 18-5-3 on home ice, which remains the best home record in the NHL this season. … Winnipeg outshot Calgary 39-22, and lost in regulation for the first time this season when outshooting its opponent (21-1-1).