Flames Notebook: How will Calgary manage goaltending tandem?

Now that their goaltending tandem is set for the rest of the season, the next question for many is obvious: how will the Flames split starts between Jacob Markstrom and Dustin Wolf down the stretch?

Whatever the answer ends up being, it needs to include plenty of action for Wolf. And for the first time in Wolf’s young NHL career, that possibility exists.

Calgary announced season-ending hip surgery for Dan Vladar on Thursday morning, opening the door for Wolf to finish the season in the NHL. And, regardless of mathematical playoff life, the Flames would be doing themselves a disservice if they didn’t take full advantage of this opportunity.

Consider the circumstances. Wolf needs the reps heading into next season where he’ll almost certainly start in the NHL. Calgary needs more looks at their prized prospect. The team sits ten points out of a Western Conference playoff spot. And Markstrom has missed the last two weeks with a nagging lower body injury.

Head coach Ryan Huska has already declared both goalies will play down the stretch. With 14 games to go, an even split seems sensible. It gives Wolf plenty of action while also satisfying Markstrom’s desire to compete in what could be his final stretch with the Flames.

“That’s up to Huska, obviously,” Markstrom said Thursday when asked about his workload to finish the season. “We can’t really look that much further. We don’t have that luxury. We’ve got to win this game Saturday and then see what other teams do.”

Markstrom is set to start Saturday in Vancouver, which likely means Wolf the following night at home to Buffalo.

A continued timeshare like that, or something similar, would serve Calgary well down the stretch.

Welcome back Connor

While still officially day-to-day with an upper body injury, you can expect rookie standout Connor Zary back in the lineup this weekend, too. Zary was back on a regular line and took power play reps at practice Thursday, signalling an imminent return.

And the Flames have missed him the last eight games.

“When he has the puck on his stick, he makes things happen,” Huska admitted. “A lot of times when you’re looking to possess the puck a little bit more often than not, he holds onto it quite a bit.

“The second thing (is) Connor did a good job on our powerplay. Whether he’s on that second unit or on our first unit, I think he’s learned how to be a pretty good half-wall player. That’s only going to keep getting better for him the more he plays.”

Calgary’s most impactful rookie since Matthew Tkachuk in 2016, Zary has been an offensive sparkplug since joining the team in November. The 2020 first-round pick has 12 goals and 29 points in 50 NHL games this season, while his 0.58 points-per-game clip is second only to Chicago’s Connor Bedard amongst first year NHLers.

And perhaps most important, Zary’s return means the Flames can reassemble a line with fellow rookie Martin Pospisil and leading scorer Nazem Kadri. Since being assembled more than four months ago, that trio has easily been Calgary’s most consistent offensive driver.

Not quite his time

Things just haven’t gone according to plan for Jakob Pelletier this season.

Expected to be an NHL regular out of training camp, Pelletier’s season was derailed by a shoulder injury in a preseason game against Seattle. Following surgery and a long recovery, Pelletier sustained another upper body injury in his fourth game back.

Upon his second return, the 2019 first-round pick struggled to make an impact. And after sitting out a pair of games as a healthy scratch, the Flames sent Pelletier to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers on Tuesday morning.

“It's something we’ve talked about a lot here the last number of weeks,” assistant general manager Brad Pascall told Flames Talk on Sportsnet 960 earlier this week.

“Collectively as a management group, we just said: hey, at the end of the day he needs to play. It doesn’t make any sense to be sitting out games. Missing all that time, I think you watch Jakob and how he’s playing…I think he would even tell you he’s not up to the standard he holds himself to.”

When he’s right, Pelletier is an effective two-way winger with a high work rate and a motor that doesn’t stop. His teammates rave about his infectious positivity and energy. And the Flames believe he has the potential to chip in with consistent secondary offence.

Those are the attributes the team hopes Pelletier can rediscover during this stretch in the minors.

“A lot of it is confidence, too,” said Pascall, who also serves as general manager of the Wranglers. “He was up and down the (NHL) lineup, he was playing fourth line minutes, and he was popped up the lineup.

“Just to go back to the American League and play with some consistency. We know that he’s going to get power play and penalty kill time and play in all different situations. I think that’s going to be a boost to anybody’s confidence.”

Pelletier, who didn’t hit the scoresheet with the Wranglers in his first two games this week, recorded 99 points in 101 games over his first two American League seasons. Production like that should get him back with the Flames sooner rather than later.